Golden Repair
by xeveningx
Summary: "What is broken is beautiful when one cares to repair it." Nagi disagrees. Nothing that is broken is ever beautiful or whole again. Being that her belief, she holds the pieces of herself together between unsteady fingertips and hunts down those who preyed on her instead. But as new people and friendships come into her damaged world, her grasp trembles. With doubt. With hope. OC/?
1. Titanium

**i.| Titanium**

— _A lustrous metal of silver color, high strength, lightweight, and relatively high heat resistance. Derived from the Grecian myth of the 'Titans', children of the primeval earth goddess, Gaia, and heaven god, Uranus._

* * *

 _There existed a world so dazzling and marvelous that one could deem it as mere make believe. One were heroes fought for them and thwarted villains that threatened the peace of their world. One were justice reigned above all and never failed those who were wronged or in danger. One were good triumphed and evil fell. A world as real as the air one could breathe, as true as the sun rising in the east, and as old as time itself. It was the very kind of world that Nagi adored with every fiber of her tiny being—a world of heroes. It ignited a vigorous passion that lit her love for the small world she lived in and had her heart always ready to burst with awe at the mere sight or mention of the heroes she adored and admired._

 _Happiness surged through her at the successful rescues done by rookie heroes. Her heart stopped at the intense stakes showcased in dire televised struggles and soared higher than her tiny feet could jump at witnessing them overcome scoundrels. The entirety of her tiny world shifted with each happenstance she laid eyes upon becoming much grander, colorful, and boundless. Like most children of such tender age, they captivated her with their stories of valor, selflessness, and compassion, and in turn inspired her to dream of the wondrous and daring life of a hero._

 _And the little girl just shy of four years held no wish in her heart to see such dream end. It was in fact that exact wish that drove and inspired the opposite: for her to see that dream become a reality._

 _Many sleepless nights arose from the excitement of what great things the morning would bring, and many more times, in her euphoria, it brought her to sneak out of her room in the quiet of the night unable to wait a moment longer. Tiny feet pitter-pattered quietly across refurbished wooden floors to avoid waking her slumbering parents. They carefully climbed down the set of stairs, an arm stretched above her head to grab the banister and help herself down while the other drew her favorite blanket behind her. Downstairs, she would run to her father's studio where she knew to find a computer still on after another late night of work. Climbing onto the high chair and hauling the cream-colored fleece blanket with her, she stared at keys trying to find her place and where to start._

 _Pressing key after memorized key, Nagi clicked the familiar video icon on the desktop and made a window pop open. The image took a second to load and it illuminated the darkness of the studio the moment it did. The image reflected itself upon large turquoise eyes that gave off a shine of their own and a broad smile came onto her face as she watched. It was an old video of a hero's debut, one she never got tired of watching. It and the hero it depicted were the very essence of what she loved about her life and the world she lived in; a hero, fearless and selfless, striving with reckless abandon to save others in the wake of tragedy._

 _A mighty hero. One of many. Yet one of a kind._

 _Light suddenly burst from the flick of switch, blinding her in her darkness and forcing her to hide her face and cover herself entirely with her blanket out of habit. A chuckle rose in the air and the soft pattering of footsteps followed before arms took her from her spot and lifted her. A hand drew back the makeshift hood of her blanket and eyes like hers yet a slight hue darker stared back at her. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her mother's lips as she carded her fingers through Nagi's hair to brush it away from her face._

 _"You should be in bed, young lady." The tender and somewhat groggy voice belied what she intended as a firm reprimand._

 _"But I'm awake." Her reply made her mother's smile broaden and Nagi smiled along with her. Her mother settled her against her hip and Nagi wound her arms around her neck and rested her head on her shoulder. She clicked at the computer to turn it off before heading out of the studio with her daughter in her arms._

 _"I can see that, but it's way past bedtime."_

 _"But All Might!" Her head shot up with the loud cheer she gave prompting a hush from her mother. She obliged through muffled chuckles before laying her head back down against her mother's shoulder._

 _"Tomorrow, honey. It'll be another day and you can watch it then. For now, it's time to sleep."_

 _With that said, she let her mother take her away without protest but watched the glow of the screen still on from the video until the screen as a whole faded into black. Wandering masterfully in the dark back upstairs and settling her into bed, turquoise eyes were wide open until a yawn escaped her while her mother tucked her back in. "Close your eyes and rest, alright?"_

 _A soft hum was her reply but as she was about to stand to leave, Nagi called out with a tug of her mother's hand. "Can I have Mi-chan?"_

 _Her mother gave a soft nod before taking the small plush of All Might and tucking it in beside her. With a soft touch that brushed away the hair from her face, she leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. Nagi took a deep breath and let out a long sigh from how the simple gesture filled her to the brim with a sense of peace and fondness. Tender eyes regarded her for a second longer and the last she heard as she drifted off to sleep was the soft lull of her mother's voice bidding her goodnight._

 _"Sweet dreams, my little heroine."_

* * *

The morning sun that filtered through dogwood trees blooming in the prime of spring bathed the houses around her in an almost ethereal light and showcased a fantastic scene. The petals swayed down at differing angles as the soft breeze blew them to its whim and glimmered in the same sunlight giving them a wondrous appearance akin to a flurry diamond dust. Bathed in this much beauty, the neighborhood almost appeared pleasant to live in.

 _Click._

A nimble cat climbed the railings that separated the neighborhood from the riverbank that sat at the end of the small hill opposite of the houses. It stood delicately upon the thin railing, its tail swaying back and forth in tacit delight while keeping a perfect balance. Large, pale blue eyes stared back at her, both of them stopping in their stride to examine each other. The feline blinked and the swaying of its tail stopped as it measured her intentions.

 _Click._

The cat hissed at the sudden shutter and scattered off without any other warning. Her eyes followed after the feline, hard strawberry candy swiveling through her cheeks, until it disappeared through an alleyway. The moment it was gone, she bit down hard to break it before mindlessly continuing on her stroll. Her lazy biting turned to a harsh nip of the inside of her cheek the instant she took out her phone to read the time. _Shit._ The camera that hung from her neck by its strap—one of the few lavish things she possessed—bounced a bit more against her stomach as she took to a light trot. When another sight caught her eye, though, she skidded to a stop before taking up her camera and focusing the shot.

 _Click._

 _Ugh, blurry._ She didn't need to see it to know. She fell a few steps back to get a better view, focused the shot and briskly clicked a few times. In the last couple, a dark blob covered the lens completely turning the snapshots black and made her peek over her camera to the man standing in the middle of her shot.

"What are you doing here, Chitanko-san?"

 _Oh._ Nagi recognized that tone and voice almost immediately; it was just the right balance of annoyed and worried, and she only knew of few that knew her who bothered evening out those scales where she was concerned. Lowering the camera completely, she gave a cheeky grin to the police officer that stood in front of her line of sight.

"Hey, Tsukauchi-san! How's one of Japan's finest doing this fine morning?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Tsukauchi stood back from looking down at her and tilted his hat back, his expression settling on somewhat peeved. "And don't disregard my question, young lady. What are you doing so far out here so early in the morning?"

"A bit of work," she chimed and lifted her camera to emphasize her words. "Stock pictures of the prefecture sell well online."

"Is that so?" he asked with a heavy sigh, clearly not believing a word she said.

"You'd be surprised." Idly thumbing through the pictures she had, Nagi grinned before turning back to Tsukauchi. "Makoto-san especially pays me good money for pro hero shots. Too bad I'm slow to catch those incidents in the city sometimes."

Hearing this about his own sister, Tsukauchi groaned and let his hand fall over his face in admonition."She must simply stop instigating bad habits in others."

"It's not all bad. Chun-chan says it's a good hobby to have!" she responded. Letting the camera fall back against her chest, Nagi adjusted her bag over her shoulder and languidly teetered herself on her back heels.

"I suppose kids these days have way more free time than they did in my days."

"It's not really about having the free time or not, Tsukauchi-san. I make time since it's so enjoyable to do!" When her phone's alarm went off, she turned it off with grimace and looked to Tsukauchi with pleading eyes and clasped hands. "Ah, speaking of time. You think you could give me a ride? I've got an entrance exam to get to."

Tsukauchi chuckled at her scattered sense of time and nodded before he guided her back to his car. Knowing the patrol car a little better than she ought to, Nagi made herself comfortable on the passenger's seat and waited for Tsukauchi to take the driver's side and take off before reaching for her phone again. The whole ride to the school Nagi kept the window rolled down to take panoramic shots of the cityscape that ran past them. Idle small talk went on thanks to him asking how she'd been doing and the school she was applying for. Her response seemed to impress him and he let a low whistle out before chuckling lightly.

"You've set a pretty high bar there, haven't you?"

"Chun-chan said the same thing," she pointed out, sitting back and swiping at the pictures in her gallery when satisfied of the ones she took. "But I don't think it is. If anything it'll be a damn good challenge."

"I don't doubt there's merit to have such high opinion of yourself, Chitanko-san, but is it really prudent to rush forward?"

"The way I see, I'm not getting any younger and with the time I lost, I want to make the most of what I have now." Tsukauchi remained quiet after that, unable to offer a comment to hers. Thankfully, the car ride lasted a few minutes more after they came in the vicinity of the school. The patrol car stopped short of being halfway across the block of the entrance gate and she shot out of it running forward and twirling around to wave at the police officer. "Thanks again, Tsukauchi-san!"

"Good luck, Chitanko-san."

Nagi spun on her heels and dodged a couple of people ahead of her as she threaded through the crowd of muttering students that voiced their worries to friends or to themselves along the way. She didn't know what they thought so impossible about taking this entrance exam, though she supposed that it being a top national academy did make it sound intimidating. It knocked her pride down a little to admit that she was iffy about the written portion, though by all accounts, she trusted herself enough to scrape by. It certainly helped that she had enough confidence in her own abilities to pass the practical one.

Her sprinting came to a crawling stop as her eyes took in the campus that grandiosely stood before them. Towering buildings of glass and metal framing rose overhead in the signature initials of the prominent school and the way the rays of sunlight were caught by the panes gave it a kaleidoscopic semblance. Truly a magnificent work of architecture. Unable to control herself, she took the camera in her hands and focused on the huge vista that the edifices on display gave.

 _Cli—_

"Out of my way." A voice growled deeply from the guy's throat as he shouldered her roughly out of his way. Catching herself before she tripped over, Nagi pouted and glared over at the back of the ash blond that had shoved her so brusquely.

"Could've said 'excuse me'." Her voice traveled loudly over the crowd but he didn't seem to have heard her. That or he simply hadn't bothered to respond. Nagi muttered a quiet 'asshole' under her breath before checking the picture. Sure enough it came out blurred.

Wanting to retake it but knowing she really shouldn't be wasting time when the exam would begin soon, Nagi shelved the idea to the back of her mind before heading to the entrance of the school building.

* * *

A point based test, he said.

 _It shouldn't be too bad of a run for me then._

Out of habit, her hands twisted the bracelets around either of her wrists, the metal gleaming silver in the sunlight, and was followed by the flicking of each finger on both her hands and the cracking of her wrists. A whole group of prospects was with her at their assigned location, maybe a good thirty or so and she eyed them all, gauging what awaited her in terms of opponents. A handful of them were mutant-types; one certainly stood out, reminding her of an octopus. The rest, she guessed, were either emitters like her or transformers. _Not much competition._ The thought of the others took a backseat fast enough when a loud voice boomed over as if coming from loudspeakers somewhere near their opened gate.

" **START!"**

A handful hesitated at the signal but within a second most of them sprinted into the arena for the test. Nagi didn't let herself fall behind and ran at a leveled speed while being mindful to head in any direction besides the one where everybody else went.

 _Point based means we're fighting against time and each other. Which means that the less crowded the place, the more chances I have of—_

Her train of thought and strut came to a screeching halt when at exiting an alleyway a one-pointer robot skidded from the adjacent road, leaving burn marks on the street and a stream of smoke from its burnt tires. A metallic head with an eye-camera swiveled around before honing down on her; the eye turned from black to red and a robotic voice came from it.

"Target acquired."

"Hey there," she called out, her tone enthused as she grinned at her luck. Not missing a beat, Nagi flicked her index and middle fingers against her thumb in the robot's general direction. The metal on her right bracelet lost its solidity before becoming a liquid in the blink of an eye and shooting out. In the instant it took to close the distance to its target, the metal sharpened and solidified into a thin arm-length spear that pierced the eye of the robot. Sparks erupted along with smoke a moment before it dropped down malfunctioning. "That's one."

The screeching of wheels made her pivot to find a bunch more ganging up against her. A wild smirk spread across her lips as she flicked the same fingers on her left hand to make the left bracelet liquefy out of shape and solidify into another spear to send flying at the robots. Two fell the same way the first did but the third managed to dodge her spear and charge her way. Using the first one she'd put out of commission as a ledge, Nagi ran at it and used it to jump out of the way of the attack before swiping both her hands downward at the robot. At her command, the metal spears turned in midair and shot back at the robot while simultaneously morphing into slick sheets of metal. The two struck inches from one another and slid right through, decapitating the three-pointer robot.

 _Yeah_ , she thought with great glee as she landed behind it, _if I keep up at it like this, passing'll be a piece of cake._

Waving her fingers closer to her, the spears responded almost satiently and flew over to hover over either of her shoulders. Once she had them back, she went off on another sprint across the arena striking any and every robot she encountered. The secluded area she went to started her off with a good number of points, but as time dwindled down and fewer targets remained, Nagi found herself eventually coming into the battlefields of other people. Fortunately, her style was long-range attacks that with the flick of her fingers or the wave of her hand, allowed her to swipe points from under the unsuspecting or otherwise preoccupied. Avoiding the ones that ran at her after stealing their points or the those that tried nabbing points away from her, she stopped only when she was unable to withstand the burning of her lungs any longer. Damn her shit endurance. But with the the points she racked up, she knew she could afford the rest.

" **One minute remaining!"**

The announcement got drowned out by the massive destruction that came from behind her that blared so loudly that Nagi found herself covering her ears from the noise. Eyes grew wide as she looked over her shoulder to see what caught everybody's attention and made that horrendous sound. A gigantic robot strode forward decimating the makeshift city; taller than any of the buildings, it made light work of the roads and edifices that it came in contact with. It's stupidly large size and the sheer amount of destruction it caused told her one thing right out off the bat: _Zero pointer._ There wasn't any point in dealing with the huge chunk of junk. There really seemed to be only one prudent choice to settle on like Present Mic had told them.

Though she decided to take that suggestion for what it was worth, Nagi stopped short just as she turned to retreat when the cries of help reached her ears. The source she found after briefly scanning about were some of the other kids that had been caught in the rubble made by the robot's entrance. Despite seeing that others were trying to help and hurry to get them out, Nagi felt divided. She didn't merit in helping them; surely the school wouldn't allow serious damage to befall their examinees. It was only logical to think that they'd be forced to stop the robot if it came even close to harming them. But the another part of herself—the one she didn't like one bit—told her that she couldn't just leave them be. A good number of kids had gotten themselves trapped in the frenzy and the ones helping were slower than the robot. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that it'd get to them before they could rescue them and haul ass out of its way. They'd be crushed.

 _It's not necessary. It's not necessary. It's not necessary._

" _We don't help people because it's our job. We help people because we want to protect them."_

Clicking her tongue, Nagi checked the area around them the sense of urgency driving her to think desperately on her feet. Fighting it was out of the question. That thing was humongous and even if it was a robot made of metal, she didn't know it's exact composition. To make any assumption could end with fatal results, if she guessed wrong.

 _Then if I just stop it..._

She let that random thought sink before nodding to herself and going with it. Yeah, stopping it wouldn't involve fighting...but it would require a lot more than the couple of flimsy spears she could make of bracelets. Good thing this was a modeled city. Nagi ran past the kids trying to help those out of the rubble and along the sidewalk with her hand outstretched while heading straight towards the robot.

"Hey, stay back! That thing's gonna kill you if you fight it!" a girl shouted. Her amber irises against the black sclera of her eyes struck Nagi's photographer eye but it was needless to say that now wasn't the time.

She pushed the urge back, rushing ahead while shouting back, "I'm not gonna fight it! I'm gonna stop it!"

But that would greatly depend on how much of the metal she could scavenge from the building. As her fingers ran across the concrete, she felt its coldness against them but her Quirk felt beyond that and sensed the small traces of it in the mixed alloys that made up the beams of the framework. But it was far from enough.

 _Come on, I need more than this!_

Flicking her other hand outwards to the building on the opposite side of the street, one of her spears pierced and scraped alongside the concrete of its wall to allow her Quirk to search it as well for the metal. Not iron, not steel. _Come on, Yuuei, don't disappoint me by having made these shit buildings out of scrap metal!_ And they didn't. On boths sides, her Quirk finally found the titanium lingering in the framework, the heaviness of controlling it weighing on Nagi's every muscle fiber, and with that much of it, she could certainly stop the zero-pointer. Letting go of the building but not of her control, she ran up to the middle of the street to stand between the robot that kept a steady pace towards her and the kids stuck behind her.

Holding her arms wide open with her fingers outstretched, she forced her muscles to move the gigantic load she amassed. Her arms drew across her body and after the lag added by the weight, her Quirk followed suit. The buildings and the floor trembled underneath her feet as they were torn from their foundations, the concrete falling from its framework as the titanium she took from them jutted out like spikes from a trap. The spikes were slow to form but hard enough to pierce the zero-pointer all through its body once they did. It's engine revved as if trying to escape from its prison but after its futile attempts, died quickly after with sparks flying and smoke fuming from its head. It had one last moment of sputtering before it slumped over completely broken.

" **Time's up!"**

Nagi took a deep breath as she shut off her control and fell to a sit from the exhaustion. The titanium fell in line after she released it; it brittled and broke after being used by her and losing the backbone that was her control, and the robot followed suit, slumping down against the nearest building with nothing else to hold it up. The hunk of metal falling against it caused a cloud of dust and rubble to lift into the air and got her coughing and swatting at the irritating fumes. But moving her hands so suddenly sent a pang of pain through them, the strain on her muscles from so much weight hitting her quicker than she thought.

Not caring about it for now, she fell back from her sit to lay back on the dirty and destroyed street. While she rested, she heard the ruckus of everybody else when they scampered and headed towards the exit now that the exam was over. Some sounded glad that it ended, others irritated from their lackluster self-score. Frankly, she would've done the same if she wasn't already so fed up with it all. The irritation fueled her and she stood, the joints of her knees and elbows cracking as she went back up. She waited until the crowd walked ahead and thinned out around her before calling her bracelets back with a light wave of her fingers. They rose from the rubble as liquid and circled her wrists before coming back to their original shape. She twisted them in her wrists and fell back from the crowd to give herself sometime to breathe and relax. But even from a distance she could feel their stares and hear their whispers.

"She stopped the zero-pointer on its tracks."

"It got decimated."

"That Quirk of hers is powerful."

Useless chatter. _You know how to push them away, Nagi._ Her lips curved at the reminder and she met the spared gazes of some who quickly turned about to look away at seeing her, obviously unnerved by her ambivalent grin. Dragging out a long sigh through her nose once she'd ridden herself of their scrutiny, her eyes dropped to her scuffed up shoes that turned a grayish blue from the ash and debris. Guess she'd be doing some cleaning when she got home.

 _Well, at least it's over now._

* * *

 **| One week later |**

* * *

 _Click._

The beach looked like a completely different place now compared to before. Whoever cleaned out Dagobah Beach really did a service to the community. The setting sun especially reflected gorgeously against the sea's horizon creating a magnificent mirage that she never tired of. It was a beautiful cityscape that she couldn't help but be at awe with.

 _Click._

The lightest tap on her head made her turn up to eyes the same color as the golden hue of the sun that set before them. A lazy smile spread across unfamiliar lips as her friend stood over her, well over a few inches taller than her meesely five feet and three inches. _Huh, it's this one today._ In their hands was an envelope, the one they'd slapped her over the head with and which she only noticed when he tapped her with it a second time.

"Guess what you got in the mail today?"

She took the letter from him but scowled all the while doing so. "You know, taking other people's mail is illegal."

"No, opening it is." They lifted a familiar lanyard holding a very familiar set of keys and their lazy smile widened at doing so, "Besides, I have a key."

Eyes wide and taken aback by that, Nagi patted her pockets before grimacing and snatching her keys from their flimsy hold. "I'm getting sick of your antics, Yori."

"You love me too much to be bored of me, Nagi."

"Not bored, just tired of the shit you pull on me." The keys weren't even the worst of it either. Most of the times it would be her food or using her shower or laundry room. They might be friends but that didn't give them the right to be a sneaky fuck. The address on the envelope piqued her interest enough to let her anger die down and focus instead on reading the letter they'd given her. "From Yuuei?"

She busied herself with ripping it open and found inside a written letter alongside a mini projector. Yori took the latter from her hands and began toying with it as she read the letter to herself.

Most of it was courtesy garbage that she was sure all letters had but as she read further she noted the sentence that mattered. "We hereby cordially and proudly inform you that you have been accepted to the Hero Course of U.A. High School." A satisfied grin came to her lips at reading the words to herself. There hadn't been a doubt in her mind even for a second.

"Ah." Her giddiness died a bit at Yori's little utterance. Turning to them, Nagi caught just in time as the projection came on after Yori's fiddling with the mini projector. He gave a soft 'my bad' which she promptly ignored, her attention much more on the projection of a very familiar face.

"Is that All Might?"

There certainly wasn't any mistaking that bright smile that formed from cheek to cheek or that styled blond hair that matched well with the flashy suit he wore. The No. 1 hero stood against a prop background that was just as ostentatious as him and that held an air of important as he announced himself. "Young Chitanko Nagi, it is with greatest prise that U.A. welcomes you to its Hero Course. You were selected from the multitude of examinees due to the results from your exam. Allow us to say as well that, from among the young prospects, you exceeded expectations and went above and beyond the call of duty and of what was required of your exam."

"What's he talking about?" Yori asked but the question went unanswered as the pro hero kept her whole attention.

"This exam tested not only your fortitude to battle faux-villains but also to gauge the capabilities and ethics of the young hero eggs that Yuuei aspires to nurture." All Might lifted a control in his hands and pressed a button that played a recording in the background screen; it was a recording of her stopping the zero-pointer. Yori whistled in amazement beside her certainly from how she used her powers to stop the hunk of metal, but what she couldn't keep her eye away from was the expression she wore that'd been caught by the cameras.

Passionate. Dogged. Fearless.

 _I can't remember the last time I felt like that._

The letter in her hands crinkled as her grip on it tightened but the tension she felt disappeared when All Might turned off the monitor and faced the projector again. "Not only did you risk your wellbeing to stop the zero-pointer, you did so while putting the safety of your fellow applicants at the forefront. That kind of determination and ferocity to take action and protect others is the very essence of a hero."

Words that she remembered hearing when younger echoed in her head and repeated the same message the No.1 hero proclaimed in the projection.

" _I'm sure you'll be a great and brave hero one day, Nagi."_

All Might gave his few remaining pleasantries before the projection ended with a click of the projector. It left Nagi speechless, her grip still somewhat tight on the letter. His words and those she remembered twisted her gut and at something that she didn't want disturbed, but there was certainly no helping it. _I know... They were my idols, after all._

"Seems like the rumors we got were true. He's really gonna teach at U.A. Lucky you." Yori patted her head but it did nothing to rip her mind away from what she'd just seen. "Let's get rid of this." His words caught Nagi unawares but by the time she turned to them, they'd already thrown the projector as far into the sea as they could manage.

"That was mine," Nagi told him, annoyed by their actions. Yori simply shrugged.

"Not like you needed it." Dragging their feet back to her side, Yori held their arms behind their head and stared down at her. "Congrats on getting accepted...is what I would say if I hadn't known you would already."

That sent a few chills down her spine and she glared at them thinking of the many things their words could imply. "I swear if you interfered with any of this in any sort of way, you'll be sleeping out in the streets."

Yori chuckled at her words, knowing they were mostly empty threats, but took the few steps away from her to assure themselves of their safety. "You know I would never, Nagi. Especially because I know you better. From what All Might just said, you did something pretty great! Surely you kicked ass in that test."

"Not as much as I thought I would," she admitted and reread the letter to make sure. _Yeah, not first in the exam._ "But that's alright. I got in and that's what matters." She folded the letter back up and put it into her bag before taking up her camera again to continue what she'd been doing before Yori interrupted her. There were only a few more minutes of sunset left and she was determined to get a good shot this time.

"Yep, quite the opportunity that shined down on us, isn't it?" they cheered and threw an arm around her shoulders, throwing her shot off. _Again._ "But I'd advise on the side of caution, Nagi. That place is crawling with pros. Even if you're the sneakiest person in this world, you wouldn't be able to do anything with a thing you get."

"Not true," she countered with an exasperated sigh and pulled out a small envelope from her pockets without letting go of her camera. Holding it between her thumb and forefinger, she held it up to them with one hand while she clicked away at the falling sunset with the other. "It might take a little longer but it won't be any different than what I do now."

"I suppose you're right." They took the envelope not caring to see its contents and pocketed it in their own pants. "Say, I've been wondering, are you really gunning to be a hero? I thought you said those dreams were for punk ass kids who couldn't grow up."

"That I am doesn't change the fact that they still are." The camera shuttered one last time to catch the sunset fade over the horizon before it left them entirely in a faded hue of light. "But like you said, it's opportune and I'm already in so what's the harm?"

"You sure?" they asked not really out of concern but out of curiosity. "They'll push you to do things you probably won't want to do. And with Blue there, it'll surely dampen your whole 'I'm-a-damn-rock-and-can-weather-through-everything' mentality."

Despite the vein that popped at her temple at the blatant insult, Nagi didn't take the bait and instead took the comment in stride. "I doubt Chun-chan will be allowed to interfere too much. Yuuei's made to push their students past their boundaries to climb higher. If anything, it'll help me have better control over my Quirk and in three years, I'll legally be able to help us do what we want with little to no oversight." Letting the camera fall against her stomach, she gave Yori a sidelong glance and raised an eyebrow at them along with a cheeky lopsided grin. "It's a win-win situation if you ask me. Nothing some little setbacks will slow down, anyway."

Yori had nothing to say to that. "Well, you're right in most of those fronts. Being licensed heroes would allow us more leniency to do what we want. And compared to three years of fruitless endeavors and scampering for scraps, I guess waiting three more won't be too much."

"Then it's decided. I'm going to Yuuei." Nagi gave Yori her back without another word and started walking away from the beach, leaving him behind.

"Ah, but Nagi!" Yori's call made her look over her shoulder at them as they stood still on the shore of the beach by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs. A cheesy grin plastered itself on them but didn't reach their golden eyes as they narrowed somewhat. "Don't go being swayed away, alright? You gotta promise me that at least. I would simply hate having to fight you."

"Same," she replied before giving them her back and waving over her head. "I'd hate to have to kick your ass."

* * *

The small screen of a phone brightened the otherwise obscure room and from the speakers, a sweet, tender voice came through drowning the quiet sobs in the background.

" _So we'll see you soon and we love you, Nagi."_

* * *

 **| A few weeks later—April |**

* * *

The clanking of metal against metal and the sweetness of cinnamon wafting in the air woke Nagi up in the gentlest of ways. Until she remembered that she lived alone. Before panic flooded her mind, though, another thought came about. Very few people knew where she lived, even less knew the number or the apartment complex. Those who did she could practically count in one hand the people who did and only one of those had the gall to barge in unannounced.

With that peace of mind, she allowed herself time to fully wake up. She stretched once, a few joints cracking and popping back into place, before she walked out of her room to verify her earlier assumption. Yori stood in her kitchen with a pink apron on while attending to the pancakes he had on the stove. This time shorter than her but with nimble hands, they turned to Nagi with a sweet smile and called out a high and accented, "Top of the mornin' to ya, lassie!"

"Do I even want to know how you got in here?" She grumpily groaned in an attempt to sound menacing. Nagi definitely wasn't a morning person and that Yori more often than not tended to barge into her place without notice made it terribly worse.

"I have a key!" they replied, patting at their pocket. Nagi strode over to them and dug her hand into their pocket searching for it. Despite their protests, Yori couldn't leave the food without it burning which gave her enough time to take the key they'd spoken of away from them. "You kicking me out again?"

Nagi spared them a glance over her shoulder as she sauntered back to her room and stopped to glare back at Yori. "Mine better be stacked."

Their muffled voice came through her door as she slammed it shut, "Yes, ma'am!"

A glance at her phone showed a glaring and bright six thirty on the screen— _who the hell starts making breakfast at six in the fucking morning?_ Thoughts of going back to sleep for another half an hour till her alarm rang crossed her mind but she doubted that with the ruckus Yori was making, she would have any luck with that. Begrudging them for what it was worth, Nagi let that fuel her through her morning routine as she rummaged through her room for her clothes. It was messier than she liked it but there hadn't been much time to clean with all the time work and preparing for school had taken up—putting in double shifts before school started might not have been the best of ideas. _Well, at least there's a path to walk through._

Finding the clothes she'd changed into after showering, she laid them across her bed and smiled at seeing something rummage beneath it. Picking the blanket off of her bed, she found her Russian blue cat splayed across the mattress that lazily rose and stretched before jumping off and standing around her legs. A scoff escaped her at the sight and she bend over to scratch it behind the ear. "Good morning, Mi-chan."

The gray cat purred and meowed loudly when she took back her hand, its faint green eyes watching her as she left the room. Though getting ready didn't take long, what took most of her time in the morning were her daily adjustments which despite lasting no more than twenty minutes, were a drag to do. But for as boring as she found them, Nagi knew how necessary they were.

 _Gotta keep myself together._

Walking into the small dining room afterwards, she found Yori with breakfast served for them and that he had complied to Nagi's request having stacked her plate full of pancakes. They ate in relative silence with Yori interrupting it with chit chat she sometimes bothered to respond to. Mi-chan sauntered out of her room to lay next to Nagi and get her to pet her as they ate. It worked eventually since she knew her damn cat had a hang-up about attention.

"You look ready to go." Yori's comment made Nagi glance down at herself. The white shirt was not buttoned or tucked in and showed the white tank top she wore underneath. Her red tie laid around her neck undone and one of her knee-high socks wasn't pulled up all the way. If that was what Yori considered 'ready,' then no wonder he sometimes came to her looking like a bum.

Her eyes wandered off to the only clock in the room, a toy alarm clock of the pro hero Wash that she'd won in a work raffle once. The bright red numbers announced 7:05 and the fact that she was already done with her breakfast so early annoyed her a little—certainly proved that she could've had slept well over a half hour more. Pushing her dirty plate towards Yori out of spite, she stood up disturbing Mi-chan and headed to her room to finish getting ready. She strode out of there with her bag slinged over her shoulder once done and stepped out to find Yori playing with Mi-chan, holding the cat's front paws in their hands while brushing their thumbs over them.

"Let go of her, you creep," Nagi hissed and kicked Yori's knee as she walked over them to pass the dining room and get to the front door.

Yori glanced behind him to the Wash clock before turning back to say, "It's early, no?"

"Might as well leave."

"And you're taking _that_ to school?"

Nagi glanced back over her shoulder to see Yori pointing at her, more precisely to the camera bag that was strapped to her school bag. It was a bit bulky but she was well accustomed to having it around. Shrugging her shoulders, she went on with putting her shoes on. "My phone's memory is getting full and I didn't have time to clean it up last night."

"It'll give you an excuse to stop on the way," Yori teased in a droll tone while stretching Mi-chan's paws over her head without much protest from the feline. "You'll be late."

"I'm not going to lose 45 minutes spacing out and taking pictures, Yori." She turned sideways to face them once her shoes were on and opened the door halfway. "Feed her and lock the door when you leave."

Leaving the apartment and them behind, Nagi focused on the trip to school. It was a bit far since she needed to take the train but once that was over with, she'd have the time to take a leisure walk up to campus. Her mind wandered, with her helpless to stop it, and surveyed the distinct look of the city compared to the small part of the prefecture she lived in. The streets were littered with people and the stores were quite lively as well despite the early hours. The beauty that spring brought along with it made the scenery that much more stunning in her eyes—petals faintly dancing in the passing breeze, the way flower stems bent this way and that following the rays of the suns, and the faint scent that sprung in the air from dew on grass cut perhaps days past now.

 _How quintessential._

And that idyllic picture was underrated in her opinion. Nobody stopped to enjoy it, no one cared to take in every last detail of such normalcy. They took it for granted. They felt like even if they didn't put attention to it now, there would always be tomorrow. Unable to help herself any longer, she unlatched her camera bag and took it in her hands. Deft fingers went to work to capture the delicacy of mundanity in these people's lives—the same beautiful mundanity that she would never tire of. In her eyes, those moments held a certain beauty she couldn't describe.

" _It's ephemerous. That why it's beautiful."_

The sights that she never paid attention to came into such a stark focus now that she could hardly let them pass her by. And she was all the more grateful that they were so easily captured by the simple push of a button. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she let her feet take her wherever they pleased.

"I have time to spare," she muttered to herself as she took another photo. _I'll only take a few here and be back on my way to school in a few minutes._

* * *

 _God fucking dammit! How!? How does this keep happening!?_

It was already past 9 o'clock. She'd be lucky if she got there to catch the tail-end of homeroom. Heavily out of breath as she ran through the gigantic gate that was Yuuei's entrance, Nagi dashed straight through the lockers, not even bothering with changing her shoes, and headed right to her classroom. Fortunately, she didn't have much trouble finding it. A small blessing, really. Class 1-A along with the whole first-year building was far from the gate but with everybody certainly in the entrance ceremony, she would only have to deal with the embarrassment of being a whole hour late to the first damn day of school.

"Damn you, Yori." There wasn't a point in cursing them but it did make her feel the slightest bit better.

Drifting around another corner, she spotted the tall door marked with Class 1-A's sign and thanked god under her breath at finally having found it. Nagi slowed down but used a bit more force than she intended to in the end. Her face scrunched up, cringing at having slammed the door open but, fortunately, the classroom was in fact empty. Seeing backpacks and bags strewn on the side of, on, or below desks though made the horrid feeling of lateness sink in her stomach. Her eyes scanned the desks and at finding one devoid of things, deduced it to be hers. Putting her bag down at its side and placing her camera on top of the desk, Nagi felt that despite her tardiness, it was good that she was at least there now. But as she sat down and attempted to calm her racing heart, a rather odd note stuck to the blackboard in front took her attention. Trotting up to it and skimming over the handwriting scrawled on the piece of paper, Nagi instantly blanched at the ominous message.

 **Class 1-A at the grounds.**

The grounds…

 _They're not at the opening ceremony._

"...well, damn."

* * *

'The grounds' was a pretty broad name for a place but Nagi refused to stay behind and do nothing about finding it. In spite of the vagueness, she assumed that they had to be at least somewhere that'd be visible. She hoped so, anyway, because otherwise she'd be even more screwed than she already was. Just then, a burst of explosions caught her attention from a field a bit across campus and she rushed there on a gamble, praying that it was indeed her class.

From where she'd seen them, they were nothing but specks of blue standing around doing some physical activities. Once on ground level and closer to the large group, though, the name of the one they were currently on stuck out like a nail when a ball was shot out of the park with enough force to cut through clouds. _Softball throwing? Like those fitness tests from middle school?_ Her eyes followed it briefly before coming back to the group she ran towards. There seemed to be a clear difference from the ones they did in middle school though. That was more than obvious by the fact that they were allowed to use their Quirks.

With bated breath, she dashed through with full speed even when her muscles strained and her lungs burned pleading for rest. In a short minute, she finally managed to catch up to the group just as the voice of an older man—their teacher, she assumed—spoke up.

"Next. No. 22, Kisa—"

"Chitanko Nagi, sir!" Her own name burst from the top of her lungs as she skidded to a stop a few steps behind the class. All eyes turned to her, and although she could only imagine how unflattering she looked at the moment—what, with strands of strawberry hair tipped white messily sticking to her perspring temple and disheveled uniform from the long run she pulled—there really wasn't time to bother. Nagi ignored the blatantly perplexed stares of her classmates and instead searched beyond them in hopes of catching the eye of their teacher.

She didn't know what in hell's name pushed her to announce herself in the middle of their exercises—not only interrupting their teacher but also declaring her own tardiness to boot—but if this was the first impression she'd give then so be it. But even before she had time to excuse herself for the thirty seconds of disruption and counting that she was causing, a cloth struck outwards avoiding the students and capturing her in its grasp. The moment Nagi laid eyes on it and felt its tight hold on her, her breath hitched and her stomach sank. _Oh god, no._ The cloth wound tightly around her arms snapping them tightly to her sides and pulled her forward through the crowd. Not even digging her heels into the ground helped delay the inevitable. It took close to no effort to fully pull her out from the group of students and to the deadly glare of Aizawa Shouta.

"Decided to join us at last, Chitanko?"

A nervous chuckle was all the reply he got alongside a tumultuous, lopsided smile of hers. No matter how much she tried, there was no hiding the slight uneasiness the man caused her. "Yeah, well, you know," she stammered through her words trying to find exactly what to say. "Ha, the funny thing about that is—"

"Don't bother. I don't want to hear it." Brusquely, he snapped the cloth away and tossed her haphazardly onto the center platform. "We were in the middle of quirk apprehension tests before you interrupted. Last place gets expelled and that's where you're standing at this point." Nagi stiffened at that and the tears pricked at the corners of her eyes at hearing those news. A part of her thought he wouldn't—she got accepted for a reason, damn it!—but she knew Yuuei a school of extreme teaching styles. _And besides, knowing how Eraser is, there's no doubt in my mind he would do it._

No, she couldn't get expelled. Not when she hadn't even started. After finally having the chance to do something, she wasn't about to let it die out because of her incompetence. Nagi didn't waste time in standing from the heap of limbs she ended up as. It took a moment for her to take off her jacket and limber up a bit by tossing her arms back and forth before facing Aizawa. "How many tests left?"

"Three. And don't get your hopes up. It's unlikely that you'll dig out of dead last even if you hit perfect scores on all of them."

The indifferent expression disappeared from her face and a lopsided grin took its place. "I'll have to get better than perfect then." Nagi lifted her arm towards him, numerous of its small scars coming into full view as she accepted the challenge with a flick of her fingers. "Improbability doesn't mean impossibility, right?"

"Believe what you want, the facts won't change." Aizawa nodded his head at a student that at spotting him made Nagi's eyes widen in recognition. Large, pale silver eyes mimicked hers at seeing her and floppy skin-colored ears tipped a lighter brown bristled slightly.

A thousand emotions rushed through her mind and boiled the blood coursing through every vessel in her body. All were conflicting with one another, but two won over the rest: bewilderment and joy. The latter made her cocky grin change to a much gentler smile that she sent his way and her hand gestured just as carefully to her classmate.

"Pass it here, Yoh-chan."

Kisaragi Yohsei held onto the ball with both his hands before slightly nodding his head, strands of short blue hair bobbing in time, and showing a shaky smile of his own. "Good luck, Nagi-san." Without another word, Yohsei tossed the ball her way and Nagi easily caught them along with it.

 _Luck_. Now that there was something she'd need if she wanted to put her money were her mouth was. Then again life wasn't all about luck. It was about effort. And this was the first place to show what her determination was worth. Letting the faux confidence from before fuel her, she winked at him. "Who needs luck?"

Pivoting her whole body to face the outer part of the field, Nagi let her Quirk activate let it passively probe her surroundings. Her bracelets were the first she sensed—the distinct touch of her specially made equipment light against her wrists and making her skin tingle. The buildings surrounding them had some too if the faint sensation of it was anything to go by. Guess all the glass was for just show. But what surprised her most and got her grin to broaden was the trace titanium she sensed in the softball. A glance to the device Aizawa held only verified her suspicions.

 _I love technology._

The trace amounts in the ball would be enough to propel it if she gave it enough momentum to fly. But to transfer a good amount of kinetic energy to it, she needed to have it in the first place. A swipe of her arm would give it a bit of propulsion but a ball was different from her spears. That much more surface area meant more resistance and less velocity.

 _No, I'm gonna need more than just a hand gesture._

Walking as far as her enclosure allowed her to, her mind reeled thinking of what to do as she tossed the ball into the air. Garnering enough energy in her body to transfer would be quite the task in such tiny space but there had to be a way of doing it without going out of bounds. Besides, if she got herself into this stupid mess, she'd get herself out just the same.

 _Two will be a tight squeeze but not impossible._

Two it'd be then. Two tight ones but she was sure she would stay in bounds if she did them right. Squatting down with the ball still in her hand, Nagi stared at her shoes and took a deep breath before kicking off. The first backflip landed her at the center of the circle and the second her foot landed, she kicked off again with the second to backflip again. As her body turned, she forced her arm out and threw the ball in mid air, transfering the momentum from her body to the titanium residue inside it in one fell swoop.

A familiar ripple ran along her arm and down her spine, almost as if something had been ripped from her the instant she let it fly. Despite the titanium she controlled always feeling like simply another extension of her body, the sensation that crawled through her bones anytime she let any of it go was one she could never get fully used to. But that feeling was good. It meant she had ahold of her control. Which is why even landing just mere inches away from the boundaries didn't distract her from the ball as it traveled further and further away. It finally dawned on her that the connection broke when she no longer felt it's presence or that rippling throughout her body. She guessed it started its descent by then and stood to look over at Aizawa for the results.

Aizawa remained impassive and stared at the device in his hands for moment. A beep went through and he turned it over for her to see without batting an eye. The bright screen displayed a white '732.2 meters' against an iridescent blue. "First base, Chitanko. Don't strike out."

"Yessir," she said under her breath, picking up her discarded jacket and following the rest of her classmates to the next task with high hopes—

Which were dashed into pieces faster than she could blink.

"Your total scores are a reflection of your performances in each of the events. Explaining how would be a waste of time so all you're getting are the end results."

 _Just put an end to my misery and chop my head off already._

Nagi expected things to be hard after missing most of the apprehension tests but she hadn't expected the remaining ones to be in areas where her Quirk would be utterly useless. The softball throw had been a good score—the _only_ good score. She somehow managed to force herself past her limits on the upper-body test for once, but the endurance run... Just thinking about the failure of that last one made her curl down into a ball and shudder at her own incompetence.

Her eyes wandered at wanting to avoid seeing the dreaded scores and as they scanned her new classmates, they came to rest on a familiar bluehead and set of floppy ears. The sight of Yohsei distracted her a bit, mostly because of how much he'd changed. How long had it been since she last saw or even talked to him? Any of them for that matter. If she recalled correctly, only a handful of years.

 _Certainly has felt longer than that._

The corners of her lips lifted up for a brief moment before she was forced to focus on Aizawa and the scoreboard he projected in thin air. Just as he did though, he laid one last snip of information their way that floored almost everybody. "Also, I was lying about expelling someone." He gave them a shit-eating grin that bordered on sadistic at the stunned silence that followed. "That was rational deception meant to bring the best in you all."

A sigh escaped her from breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding and she welcomed the relief after that tiny heart attack with open arms. Falling back to a proper seat on the ground haphazardly, Nagi groaned into her hands from the curved ball he'd thrown their way, "...you've gotta be kidding me." But even if the threat of expulsion had been a lie, there wasn't much to celebrate either. She hit it dead last by default even with how well two of her three tests went.

"Being tied for last—not the best starting line." _But at least it's one._

"Don't count your blessings just yet." A looming shadow clouded the sunlight over her and made Nagi look up to meet Aizawa's piercing red glare. "You still arrived an hour late to class on the first day." Taking a note from his pocket he plastered it on her forehead making her slump back.

She took the piece of crumpled paper with quick hands and the instant she read it, her eyes widened at the punishment scribbled. "A week's detention!?"

"You waste my time, I waste yours."

"But I meet with Chun-chan after school!"

"Not for the rest of the week, you aren't."

"We're working on a new things though!"

"Missing a day won't kill you."

"But that's—" Before she could finish her sentence, Aizawa threw his scarf to wrap around the bottom half of her head and neck, effectively covering her mouth completely. The sudden rough treatment startled her into silence and let Aizawa give his piece.

"I simply cannot comprehend how you fail to hold your tongue." Plenty of things wanted to leave her lips to retort to that but seeing as they were shut forcefully at the moment, Nagi could do little to protest. In the end, she resigned to her silence and looked askance. Aizawa glared at her for a second longer before groaning and undoing the hold of his scarf on her. "Let this be the last time it happens, Chitanko. Making Suzume's job harder isn't mine. Don't make it yours."

So...many...puns.

 _Don't._

"...yessir."

He left her with no further addendum. Nagi thanked the heavens that out of any punishment imaginable she got the least terrible of them. _Still...this means I have to wake earlier than I usually do for the next week._ She sighed through her nose and settled with counting her remaining blessings instead. _At least homeroom is over._ With that thought came another, and it made her beeline it to a certain short, bluehead with floppy ears after she picked herself up and her jacket alongside her. She snaked her arm around his shoulders and grinned at Yohsei who jumped in his skin before lifting his gaze to meet hers.

"Hey, Yoh-chan. Been awhile."

"Um, yes, it has. I was, well, shocked to see you here, Nagi-san." Although many obvious things changed about him, it seemed his cordial sheepishness hadn't. He still shrunk down, slouching forward, and his ears still fell down the side of his mess of a head life earmuffs.

"Long story, really, but I decided to become a hero too. Seems you worked up a much tougher ladder I did if you're in our class, though." Not a very far-fetched assumption with him being a year younger than her and all.

Yohsei chuckled at the compliment, his shoulders finally relaxing somewhat. "Y-Yes, I suppose so. Did you, well, catch up too?"

"Yep!" She took her arm back to make her strides fall in tandem with his and walk side by side with him. He hadn't grown much either by the looks of it. Nagi could probably guess that he barely reached to her neck if he stood straight. "Was hard work but I made it happen. Glad I did so even more now that we're classmates. Lucky us!"

"...yeah, lucky..."

"What was that?"

Yohsei vehemently shook his head, his hands reaching up to pull down lightly at his ears and lips turning up slightly into a small smile. "Congratulations on getting in."

"You too," she replied with a lopsided grin of her own. "We shouldn't let our guards down just yet though. We're against others who worked just as hard too, so let's do our best." The small boy gave a subtle nod of agreement but remained quiet through Nagi's nonsensical tirade thereafter. But even as she talked on their way back to the classroom, her mind wondered in a completely different direction at that reminder. It wasn't easy to forget that they were among the best of the best now, handpicked from thousands of applicants. Some even recommended.

 _Wonder who those lucky ones are?_

* * *

Turquoise eyes trailed after the delicate movements of a dainty hand as it prepared tea. Leaving the pot to broil on the small electric stove in her office, Shishio Suzume—or as she so _affectionately_ called her, Chun-chan—walked over to a particular cupboard to pull out a couple of intricately-designed cups and saucers. It was her hobby, collecting those expensive looking tea sets. Nagi didn't see the appeal. Sure, they were pretty and all but she didn't see anything other than that to them.

Porcelain and glass were too fragile, easily destroyed, and once broken they were almost always impossible to put back to how they used to be— _much like people._

"Tea?" the older woman asked once the broil was done, a couple of fingers brushing straight jet black hair behind one ear.

Nagi knew better than to decline.

With the delicacy and grace that reminded her of flowing water, Suzume prepared their cups—hers was a white with intricate animal carvings in silver and a pale red. Nothing special since compared to others, really, since she tended to rotate the ones she used between sessions. Meanwhile Nagi's was always the same—a clear teacup with a gold handle that Chun-chan gifted her their first session almost a year ago. It was one of the least conspicuous ones she had offered from her collection. A peace offering, she had called it. A teacup, Nagi had thought in retort, but accepted the present all the same.

She busied herself in the stillness of the room to serve the two cups, taking Nagi's and placing it before her on her side of the table. The opaque brown liquid seemed dark in the clear crystal and it quietly reflected by light and even something that resembled her face when she peered down at it.

Suzume neared another tray that held two topped cups. "Honey and almond milk. You prefer those, right?"

Her pouring both into the blend was answer enough. Suzume took her time across the table to prepare hers and let themselves settle down in her office. There wasn't a need for that where Nagi was concerned and in her boredom her eyes wandered and took the room in. It was maybe twice the size of the office she had in her agency but by the looks of it, she made use of the space given to her by Yuuei. Simply by the way it was decorated and arranged—shelves across a wall mounted with her collection and another with books upon books of psychology and psychiatry, and furniture kept pristine with only minor signs of wear—there wasn't any mistaking who it belonged to. Nagi had been in and out of that old office of hers for the past year to not recognize the woman's touch.

Her eyes came back to the said person sitting across from her in a tall, deep green armchair that, compared to the wider bronze lounge she sat on, looked cramped. Despite its size, Suzume made it seem comfortable as she serenely drank her tea.

A few sips of hers was all Nagi could muster before impatience started gnawing at her. She never liked sitting across from the woman. Although she didn't hate her—far from it, really—Nagi always found it troublesome to have to gauge her. Beneath that pensive and demure facade of a quaint psychologist laid the Soulful Hero, Bluebird, whose words were as dangerous as her touch. In her opinion, the latter was the deadliest one of two. Fortunately, she could relax somewhat knowing that Suzume'd have to reach over the table to ever come close to touching her.

 _I may like her but I can't say I feel the same way about her Quirk._

"Well..."

The soft _clink_ of the cup on its saucer rung loudly—or maybe it was just her tense nerves making things sound louder to her ears—and caught her off guard, making her jump in her skin a little. Her hand reached up to the side of her head and brushed back tresses of sleek ebony to expose a gear attached behind her left ear. It was a strange idiosyncrasy of hers that Nagi caught onto after the first few sessions. Anybody would've confused the small apparatus for a hearing aid but from the way Suzume twisted a dial, the distinct _clicking_ of each rotation wholly audible, Nagi thought better than to chalk it up to such simple explanation. Once done, Suzume raised a gentle jade gaze and smiled her way. "How was your first day of school, Nagi?"

"Normal, I guess." Nagi bobbed her head from one side to the other, the free tresses free from her ponytail swinging with each movement and bringing the white tips into view. She followed their metronomic swing to not meet Suzume's gaze. "Well, aside from the fact that I was late because I got caught up taking pictures of the city."

"Yes, your homeroom teacher let me know about the change in your schedule for the upcoming week." The soft chuckle that bounced around made Nagi stop briefly to look at her. Suzume wasn't hard to read since she opted into being an open book to encourage the same out of Nagi, but she often doubted that. Her glance lasted only a moment, enough to gauge her before going back to the methodic sway from before. "I was also told he put the class through Quirk apprehension tests. How did you feel about those?"

"Considering that I came dead last mostly because of my forgetful dumbass, it went as bad as I expected it to."

"You expected that?"

"I'm kidding, Chun-chan." The swaying stopped again, her head ending in a tilt as she smirked. "Frankly speaking, the tests I did weren't bad and the ones before didn't sound challenging in the least either. I'm sure had I gotten to class in time, I would've scored higher. I think where I actually got the short end of the stick was in getting Aizawa as my homeroom teacher." _I didn't even know he taught._

"Shouta's a well-rounded teacher and experienced pro hero, Nagi. I'm sure this first impression of his teaching style you have isn't all there is to it and will most likely change over time."

"No, I'm pretty sure he went all out today," Nagi responded and slightly shuddered at the reminder of that clothe wound tightly around her. "His spartanic teaching style clashed a hell of a lot with how I remember him being. And the fact that he knows me only adds to that potluck of bad luck I've been having all day."

"Are you afraid you won't meet his expectations?"

"Not particularly. He was tough on us but I understand why and I'm prepared to surpass those expectations, whatever they may be. Plus ultra and all that stuff, right?" She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and took another sip of her tea. "I guess the good thing with him being my homeroom teacher is that class won't be as boring as I thought it'd be."

There wasn't any real pause after that seeing as the conversation took a more earnest turn. "How was your control today?"

Her gaze fell to her hands and to the bracelets around her wrists. "Can't complain. No hiccups if that's why you're asking. Same as it's been for the last three years." The age of the many scars along the lengths of her arms and legs were proof of that. A pair of silver eyes accompanied the reminder. Now with the sudden idea of him in her mind, it was impossible for Nagi to keep to herself. "Yohsei's in the same class as me."

Suzume impassiveness broke when a knowing smile came to her lips like a mother's who'd been talking her children through a question she already knew the answer to. "I did hear about that, yes."

It annoyed her hearing that sweetness in her voice. "You knew and didn't tell me."

"I didn't see a reason to." The sweetness left her voice and she returned to being as calm as before. The smile didn't disappear though and it bothered her. The woman had an uncanny ability of toeing the line separating genuinity and insincerity—her words as well as her actions held that ambiguity to them that Nagi just didn't like. "Was I wrong?"

"Not really." The annoyance, however, swelled in her chest. She couldn't understand why it irked her so much that Suzume hadn't said a word about Yohsei attending Yuuei, much less being in her class. Perhaps it'd been the lying but then again lying implied that she'd asked about him in the first place. And she seldom asked about any of them anymore.

"...how are they?"

"Who?"

"The others." Nagi lifted her gaze from counting her scars to meet Suzume's jade eyes. "Are they well?"

Suzume pursed her lips as if thinking how to respond. That didn't bode well with her. Her head hung in a slow nod and the smile from before disappeared, showing instead a thin line tugged at the corners. Out of all of them, Nagi liked that one best. "To my knowledge, yes."

"Mm." With that, Nagi laid back fully against her chair and rested her head against one side. _So tired._ With the exhaustion clinging to her body after a long day like a second skin, her interest wavered and she started playing with the ends of her ponytail to occupy herself. "Are there others I should know of?"

"Not really."

 _Uh-huh._ It dawned on Nagi after numerous sessions that there existed the sort of replies that didn't really answer much but that hid lots of things underneath them. Catching these was the easy part. Deciphering how to get the information out of her was a different story.

"Are there others attending Yuuei besides Yohsei and I?"

"I can't answer that."

"That's not a no."

"Nagi."

"Telling me won't change anything, Chun-chan," Nagi retorted as she lazily flexed each finger by touching it to the end of her palm to distract herself of her mounting ire. "I'm not going to look for them or even talk to them. I have no reason to. Yohsei's the exception seeing as he's my classmate, but that's as far as things will go. So what's the harm in telling me?"

"There isn't any. I was just asked not to divulge information about any of you."

"From the principal or are you just making that up to not tell me?"

"The principal," Suzume confirmed.

"Oh." But that didn't really satisfy her. In that split moment of silence, Nagi went down the list of names carded the depths of in her brain. From one hundred and four to twenty-six and ending on seven. Most of them lived too far to attend Yuuei and she doubted any of them moved just for that. With herself and Yohsei out by default, that left few viable options. The one that came to mind most prominently spilled out of her lips without meaning to. "Is it Ikari?"

Her silence neither confirmed nor denied it. She remained stoic as well so there wasn't anything to take from that either. The sudden and slightly forceful settling of her cup on its saucer though did give off a bit of her mood. "Nagi, we're here to talk about you."

"And I want to talk about them."

"That's not how this works and you know that." At the drop of a hat, Suzume's gentle tone changed and her eyes narrowed down on her. _Uh-oh, Blue's here._ "May I remind you that it was under my sanction that Yuuei was allowed to consider your application for the entrance exam in the first place? And I know you are smart enough to know what will happen if you refuse me now."

 _There's the hook, sinker, and whole live bait._

No way in hell was Nagi forgetting that little caveat of theirs. Her decision to apply to Yuuei the year before hadn't been a thoughtless one, after all. And those limitations and obstacles that mocked her back then never deterred her when all was said and done. It took arduous studying through lots of sleepless nights for her to even graduate with the rest of the kids her age. But even that paled in comparison to the highest hurdle: that pesky record of hers. That they were sealed didn't matter either since schools with a hero course required transparency. Despite never being convicted of anything, her records still held weight, and the only one with the power to render them mute was her appointed psychologist.

And dear ole Chun-chan gladly accepted to do that for her—

If she agreed to reinstate their sessions and take them seriously. What's more, if at anytime Nagi refused, Suzume would revoke her agreement which would leave Yuuei with no other choice but to kick her out onto the proverbial curb.

 _I regret my decision sometimes._ Now was one of them with how Suzume effortlessly cornered her with mere words. Maybe she'd been wrong to think her touch deadlier.

Heaving a sigh, Nagi crossed her legs on the seat to lean forward on her elbows and put her cheek against her open palms. "Fine, fine, you win. But at least keep the conversation going for me, will you? I'm kind of tired from the whole of today."

The aloofness disappeared and the amiable demeanor returned; a change at the drop of a hat. "Of course. I see you brought your camera to school. Want to tell me about what you've photographed?"

Scoffing at how easily she changed the subject—and to something she actually liked talking about no less—Nagi picked up the case from beside her chair and took out the camera. As she clicked through the different photos she set the camera on the table before passing it to Suzume. Through her perusal, the corners of her lips tugged upwards with each one she saw. After a couple of minutes, she lifted her gaze away from the device, deep green eyes boring into Nagi's.

"They're fewer than usual."

"Studying and training took a lot of my time these past months. Didn't have much time to take pictures."

A thin eyebrow of hers lifted as if unconvinced by her excuses. "I thought we agreed to make time for things we enjoyed doing."

"And I do, but slacking off a few weeks won't kill me." _Or magically make me any better._ That last thought she kept to herself though, and instead took out her phone from her pocket. "I did take some with my phone. More of the same though."

"Sceneries again?"

Nagi shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, her eyes focused on a particular spot on the far wall where the paint was uneven. "They're pretty." _And sell well with journalists too busy to take their own photos._

"Undoubtedly. And you have real talent too. You capture them in a way that almost seems surreal, like capturing a moment in time in all its beauty."

Suddenly the oddly painted wall didn't seem as interesting. She briefly peeked from under her lashes before quickly turning away to try and hide the dust of pink that crossed her cheeks. Despite how comfortable she'd become with Suzume, Nagi knew better than to let her guard down completely. Bluebird knew how to talk someone down and out of their defenses after all. "I'm not that good."

"You are too," Suzume repeated and chuckled at one picture in particular. "You've got some of Mighty too?"

Although hearing the name aloud did taint the tip of her ears a bit red from the embarrassment of the name, Nagi feigned an aloof expression and covered her mouth with her hand to keep her pursed lips from giving her away. "I was in my apartment a lot and she tends to stay still long enough for me take the pictures. She lets me pose her sometimes when she's feeling lazy enough."

"She's quite the model, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"None of anybody else, though."

Turquoise eyes wandered up to linger on dark jade, stopping shortly on that motherly smile that came back to her lips. A switch turned back and she threaded her words carefully. "Who would I take pictures of?"

"Friends. Coworkers maybe."

Her shoulders loosened in a makeshift shrug and she sunk as far as she could into the collar of her blazer. "My coworkers aren't the most interesting of people. And friends aren't a thing I particularly have."

"Not even one?"

 _I suppose Yori but they hate me taking pictures of them._ The few she did have were blurry as hell and, well...not really him. Though it soured her mood, she dispelled that thought with a shake of her head and answered Suzume's question in the process. "Not very chatty if you haven't noticed. Don't think people would like to hang around me."

"I highly disagree with that." Suzume mimicked her position, crossing her ankles instead and leaning her cheek against two fingers. "I know if you had the modicum of interest in it, you would make friends as easily as you take those wonderful photographs."

 _Doubt it._ "Maybe."

"Why not try then?"

 _Not interested._ "I'd rather not."

"I'd rather you try once." With her other hand, she mentioned to the case that laid by Nagi's side before sliding the camera back over to her side of the table. "Your homework for our next session: bring at least one picture of a friend you've made."

Nagi raised an incredulous eyebrow at the childish assignment. "You expect me to befriend someone in five days?"

"They don't necessarily have to be best friends with you. An acquaintance would suffice, so long as it isn't Yohsei-kun. Simply find someone, get to know them, and ask if you can take a picture of them."

"You make it sound easy."

"Because it can be that easy, Nagi." Suzume assured with a gentle smile—one that reached her jade eyes, the one that she liked. "If only you try."

* * *

 _Try, huh._

She blew a tiny, raspberry at hearing Suzume's words on repeat in her head. Instead of lingering on them, though, she focused on the continuous _clicking_ of keys as she typed away on a keyboard. It irritated her that the sound echoed in the empty computer room more than she would've wanted. State of the art technology in generously large cubicles lined row after row of the vast room she was in. Knowing the brands and just exactly what a pretty penny they cost, it amazed Nagi that Yuuei still found the money to waste on the huge hunks of metal they used in the entrance exam. But she wasn't complaining either. Not when they had what she'd ask Suzume about as well.

" _Photo printers?"_

" _I haven't found the time to empty the other memory card and this one's already full too. I'm short on spare cash this month so I can't buy another one, and printing the bunch I want is kinda pricey too. Do you know if Yuuei has any?"_

When all was said and done, trusting and honest Suzume didn't see harm in telling her where to go. Aside from the one she was in there were four others just like this one which meant that, apart from a couple of students sprinkled here and there, the one she stumbled upon first wasn't crowded at all. Spotting a good corner, she took the station the further away from prying eyes.

Her fingers made fast work of taking the memory card out of her camera while sparing a glance or two to log on in between. It was in and loading within seconds but what surprised her was that folders opened automatically including the one that held over a 1500 pictures. Equally parts strange and amazing, she brushed it off for now and instead baffled at the number. Guess it'd truly been a long time since she last cleaned this one out apparently. Exactly a year and a half ago by the last photo in the folder.

A blurry one of Yori. _One of them, anyway._

Unnecessary as it was, she went ahead closing the ones that didn't matter and left only the one with her most recent pictures. One in particular of Mi-chan lounging on her bed stood out and she clicked on to export it into the computer. The moment it transferred, the program in it ran—the upload animation she'd made of a pixelated kitten took off on a run as the program ran. Not wasting a second and printing a third of the batch from the folder, Nagi split her attention from that to focus on the windows her program couldn't bypass to do it manually, the noise of the photo printer drowning her digilent typing.

 _Smart._ Their systems were truly advanced with numerous walls to avoid and complicated codes to decrypt if she wanted to pass undetected. An error on her part could very well set off alarms and spell the end before she even started. A big 'if'there, though. The pixelated black cat, having stopped, sat patiently and waited to be allowed to continue its upload. Peeking to make sure she was in the clear and double-checking what pictures still needed to print, she hurried the process along. Half the batch printed by the time she got around the problem, but with no more complicated obstructions in its way, the cat moved along just fine. _But I've broken smarter._

Pleased with her work, Nagi leaned her chair back on its hind legs and stretched her arms over her head, the audible 'pop' of her joints reaching her ears through the noise. A sudden window popping up and the cat stopping put a dent on that quickly enough though.

 _That's what I get for gloating._ With a frustrated click of her tongue, she let her chair fall back again to take look at the problem. She grimaced at simply skimming through it and refrained from touching anything while the photos printed behind her with less and less left to go by the minute. _Now_ that's _new._

The usual loopholes weren't there. The code was even covered for the few obscure ones she knew by memory.

She was stuck. And there wasn't a way around it; not one she could figure out in the few minutes that it'd take for the remaining photos to print, anyway. For as much as she hated to do so, Nagi backed off. _You're staying kitty._ Most of it had uploaded into the system, so bringing it back up at any terminal in the school would be easy once she cracked this monstrosity in her way.

 _You'll fall Goliath, that I promise ya._

That vow made in her head, she closed program itself, the cat disappearing with a flick of its pixelated tail just as the printer slowed down from the load of work. Swiftly taking her memory card and photos and putting them away before logging off, Nagi walked out of the computer room but set off on a sprint once through the gigantic gate.

Despite the setback, she'd done more than she expected to in the end and the giddiness had her skipping all the way to the train station. Once out and on the way to her part time job, she fished her phone out of her blazer's pocket and searched through her contacts for the number. _Today should be...ah._ A finger hovering over the screen and contact and dialed the number. She stopped short at a red crossing light in the midst of a crowd then as the other line rung once and then twice until Yori picked it up in the middle of the third ring.

" _My sweet Nagi! To what do I owe the honor?"_ they answered perkily through the other line. A female's voice. She guessed it right; Chiharu's day was today.

Skipping across the street once the light turned green, Nagi let the giddiness fuel her on her way to work. It was way too much to contain with how relatively smooth things were going and she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her at the small pun she said.

"Cat's in the bag~"

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _ **Oh my goodness!**_ _ **This was hell to proofread!**_ _ **But I loved every second of it! (.◜ω◝.)**_

 _It took me a whole month to write this, rewrote it through the first edit, and after my friend got back to me about it (Avi, I love you, you're the best!), I rewrote it again and added more!_ _ **I ADDED MORE!**_ _This thing's double what I thought it'd be! I'm losing my freaking mind here!_

 _*lets the rusted circuits of brain cool down*_

 _Okay, I'm better now. I don't want to take much of your guys time away so I'll be as brief about things as I can even when I have tons of things to say (((o(*_ _ﾟ▽ﾟ_ _*)o)))_

 _Ahem! Well for starters,let me give you guys a good summary (since ffs is kinda crap with how short they have to be):_

 **Ever since their discovery, Quirks have shone the brightest of lights upon the world. But that light has also cast the largest and most dangerous shadows. Shadows that have grown to evolve over generations, claw at the unsuspecting and destroy the wills and lives of the least deserving. They stalk their prey away from the limelight that created them—they hunt what is whole and beautiful and ruin it, leaving in their wake broken pieces of what they once were.**

 **"What is broken is beautiful when one cares to repair it."**

 **Nagi disagrees wholeheartedly. Nothing that is broken is beautiful nor ever whole again, no matter how it's fixed. Being that her belief, she holds the pieces of herself together between unsteady fingertips and seeks out the remnants of the shadows that preyed on her instead. But as new people and friendships come into the limelight of her damaged world, piecing it into one where heroes are brave and villains defeated once again, her grasp trembles.**

 **With doubt.**

 **With hope.**

 **"How can a world so broken shine so brightly...and how can I shine just as bright?"**

 _Now, let me properly welcome you all to my very first BnHA story! For those of you who are new, I'm Evie For those of you who came over from CoU and TM thinking to yourselves "Ah, here she goes again. Now we're gonna get even slower updates" all I've gotta say is "_ _ **HA! Joke's on**_ _me cuz you guys know me so well" (/ω_ _＼_ _) Jk! For reals! I promise this won't hinder updates as much as you think. They'll still come bundled up (or just a little delayed from one another) of that you can rest assured!_

 _And well, aside from that, all I've gotta say for myself is that I couldn't help myself any longer. I legit was going to wait on publishing this but I just couldn't. Not only was I inspired to write it, a wholesome community that I just joined made me all the more excited to share this with the fandom (_ _ﾉ_ _ヮ_ _´)_ _ﾉ_ _*:_ _･ﾟ✧_ _So I have them to thank as well!_

 _But I digress. I've had this idea swimming in my head for a very,_ _ **very**_ _long time despite having 2 other wips to work on already and, well, I've wanted to write it since then. So much so that I'll gladly welcome the added load with open arms if it means I can write it. Tho slots will be shared and this will take a very slight backseat (sort of/not really~) I will be working on it nonstop all the same! I'm in love with this series and this is the only damn way I know how to show it! And hell, ain't nobody stopping me from doing it (_ ۶• _̀ᴗ•́)_ ۶

 _That's all I've got to say for now. Let me know what you guys think about it~ Anyway, hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter of_ _ **Golden Repair**_ _and also that you'll all accompany my little Nagi on this brand new adventure!_

 _Wish all you lovelies a great day/night and hope you stay tuned for the next chapter!_

 ** _\- Evie_**


	2. Copper

**ii.| Copper**

— _A multipurpose metal of a reddish-orange hue that is soft, malleable, and ductile. Derived from the contracted Latin 'cuprum' meaning 'Cyprian metal'. Because Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and sexual love, held Cyprus as sacred, she represents copper in myth due to its lustrous beauty._

* * *

 _White—it always hurt her eyes to even see such incandescent color, but there was no way for her not to. It was the color of the bed she used to sleep; a mattress and sheets soaked in antiseptic to such an absurd extent that merely breathing burned her throat and nostrils. It was the color of her little desk; sleek metal befitting her size where a notebook filled to the brim with painstakingly memorized ammunition sizes and shapes rested. Every inch of that tiny space, from all four walls to the ceiling and floor, was tainted the colorless hue that she despised._

 _Everything except for the small, grey air vent hidden under her bed. Nagi had found it one night, unable to conceive any rest as it was, when she heard the soft whistling of air. At first mistaking it for a dream, the sniffling that drifted softly from the other side convinced her otherwise. That night after all lights went out and the blinding white was gone, she squeezed herself underneath the frame of her bed and reached her fingers through the cold, metal grates._

 _Her hello came out rough, her throat hoarse and tired from crying and screaming. The sniffling didn't stop. Had they not heard her? Was anybody even there? Maybe it's a ghost, she thought, or maybe her mind had finally given up on her. That was very much possible. But just as possible was the chance of it actually being someone. And if it was, then she refused to ignore what her ears heard with such crystal clear clarity._

 _A cry for help._

 _"Hey," she said, voice raspily trying to reach any volume higher than a whisper. It echoed in the narrow chute but nothing came back in reply except for the whistling of passing air. Clearing her throat to make sure she would be heard no matter what, Nagi tried again. "It's...it's alright." It was hard to recall for some reason but she justled her brain enough to recall what she would tell her little brother when he got scared and cried. "I'm...here. I'll be with you through here." Her grown fingernails tapped the metal grate and the clanking they made was soft but audible in the quietness of the room._

 _The sniffling stopped and got replaced by shuffling that barely reached through the vent before a sweet, quivering voice rose from the other end._

 _"W-Who...Who are you?"_

 _"My name's Nagi." She relished in the sound of another's voice after having gone so long without it, even a stranger's. But it sounded like another child, though she couldn't be too sure. Nagi pressed her forehead and nose against the grate wanting to hear their voice more, despite how biting the cold air that drifted in through it was. "What's—what about yours?"_

 _Fingers tapped on the other side making that clanking noise echo to her side before their voice came through again._

 _"I-I'm...Yohsei..."_

* * *

"Like hell I will."

"Oh, come on, Yori..."

Her groan dragged on under her breath but her frustration was well underwraps as she turned to the couple of customers that entered the diner she worked in. Donning a smile, Nagi recited the welcome spiel she had memorized for months now before escorting them to an open booth.

The establishment wasn't much to brag about—it frankly was the quintessential family restaurant that was a dime a dozen in any city or town. The one redeeming quality about it, she supposed, was that it was American themed; the gimmick kept things different in a way. Food changed from time to time, though the pungent smell of ever-so-slightly burnt beef and boiling oil of fries clung to the kitchen and wafted at times to the front. Their uniforms were tacky to put it nicely and though they weren't flattering or cute at all, they weren't appalling either. The furnishings were local buys from what she knew but they fitted well enough with the theme for what they were worth. Nagi found nothing particularly appealing about them, though. They could call her old fashioned, but she'd take tatami mats and cushion seats over red leather booths that'd seen better days and varnished wooden tables any day.

 _At least the music's good._

Hustling back to the front where the kitchen window was, she placed the order down and called it through before turning back to Yori who sat drinking away at a strawberry milkshake at the front bar with a sweet smile plastered on their face.

"Help me out here."

"Nuh-uh." Yori slurped the milkshake loudly through their straw annoying Nagi even further. "I may love you and all, but I don't love you enough to dress up in your uniform and let you take a picture of me to show off to the old lady."

"She won't even know it's you though."

"Tables twelve and twenty ready, Chitanko!"

Hurriedly, Nagi pivoted to reply to the cook on the other side before taking the orders to their respective tables. Though business was never too hectic during the weekdays, dinnertime was truly a race to be beat. It had her pouring coffee to some and water to others at every other turn and gave her rest only after a few minutes of making the rounds about her station. She returned to the front of the bar only to be welcomed by Yori pushing their empty glass forward with a smug grin on their face. "Another, please~"

"You say 'no' to a simple request and you have the gall to order me around?"

"It's your job."

"You better be paying with _your_ money," she threatened under her breath but got them another nonetheless. _It's their third one already._

"But of course I am." They took the knew shake happily using the old straw to plunge through the new drink. They laid their chin on their hands while staring at Nagi who went about taking orders at the bar. "I'm not _that_ much of a deadbeat."

"I beg to differ."

"Is that how you speak to someone you're pleading a favor from?"

Nagi opted not to reply since she was too busy feigning a smile to her customers and trying not to blow a gasket at the same time to bother. The moment she turned back to them, though, she slammed the check on the counter with a strained smile and a tick on her temple. "Here's your check."

"I didn't ask for it," they teased with a droll stare.

"Too bad, now pay up." She didn't bother sugarcoating her words and instead went on with work.

"Seriously, Nagi, her request isn't that big a deal. All you have to do is take someone's picture. You love taking pictures. What's one more?"

"I don't take pictures of others, dumba—" The children's laughter that drifted to her ears made her rethink her words and she let the word drag on before deciding to omit it altogether. With the sentence that followed, she lowered her voice to keep the clientele and, more importantly, her boss from overhearing her. "Besides, you know I don't like people."

"Yeah, you're social anxiety doesn't allow that, huh?"

"I don't have social anxiety, you idiot," she hissed at them, leaning slightly over the counter of the bar to do so.

Though she had much to say in regards of whose social skills were the most lacking, there wasn't time to do so when the dinner rush came at full throttle. Too busy to pay attention to anything that didn't readily need her, Nagi bustled back and forth between tables, the kitchen and back out again to serve the customers that flooded in. Though she rarely found work tedious, there wasn't any denying that dinner time was the worst. Not so much because of the crowd but because of the children. She swore that kids had this sixth sense that made them act up anytime she came anywhere near them. It made her job unnecessarily difficult—today being no exception seeing as she was currently trying not to be too pissed off at the kid that dumped his whole plate on the floor, food and all.

Yori's snicker reached her ears all the way across the diner and made keeping her composure that much harder. _I swear, Yori…_ Nagi might not be able to strangle the little brat who stared at her— _is he smirking?!—_ while she cleaned and the parents apologized profusely, but she could very well do it to Yori for being a prick and laughing at her expense.

But that'd have to wait.

The hours of her shift seemed to crawl painfully slow, but they ended eventually when a coworker of hers came in from the back to tell her that she'd take care of the rest. Thanking them and letting Yori know it was time to head back home, they said they'd wait for her by the back exit before they parted ways. She headed on to the locker room—thankfully, the only part of the restaurant that heralded the only semblance of normalcy—to change out of her uniform. All the while, though, her mind wandered again to what Yori said about her disinterest in others.

Although she disagreed with the labeling, there wasn't much use denying that she did have a problem communicating with others. She was well aware of how she could be when she allowed herself to speak freely. It was why she often refrained from doing so. The only exceptions to that—if she could call them that—were so few in number that she could literally count them in one hand.

 _There's Yori. Sometimes Chun-chan. And—_

" _I think it's bold that you speak your mind like that! It shows you have strong beliefs that won't be swayed, in my opinion."_

Thinking of that man made her heave a deep sigh, her face getting somewhat warmer from imagining his charming face and his somewhat baritone voice. _I haven't seen him in a while._ Not since a couple of months back when she last visited Chun-chan's offices in Hosu. The tips of her ears ignited red at the mere thought of him but she shook the giddiness away and focused on changing instead. That wasn't what she needed to be thinking about right now.

Once done she gave her swift goodbyes to her coworkers before leaving the diner through the backdoor. Standing against a wall in the dingy alleyway was Yori, sharp golden eyes looking up before walking up to her with a grin plastered on their face. They took Nagi's school and camera bag in their hands before walking off to exit the alleyway with Nagi trotting after them.

There was a long stretch of blissful quiet that lasted from the train station to her neighborhood and it helped settle her out of her work mentality and into a much more comfortable one. Once closer to her neighborhood, her body continued walking by itself at feeling somewhat more complacent with the familiar environment. Dagobah beach crossed her sight on their way home and letting herself be taken by it, she sprinted away from Yori's side to chase the setting sun. It didn't take her long to notice something missing before she hurried back to snatch her camera bag from his hand and run back towards the beach. Taking off her shoes and not caring that her socks would get wet, she ran into the rolling waves until the cool water reached her knees and lifted the camera up to her face.

It took a moment to focus and once it did, she let herself take as many as she felt like. Sunsets were always lovely to see for her. The way the crimson, orange, and golden rays shone down felt like the gentlest of touches and the way they reflected against the ocean as it wavered back and forth made them seem like she could almost scoop up that warm light in her hands. A childish instinct bubbled in her and got her to act on that urge, first strapping her camera across her shoulder and pushing it behind her to safeguard it before bending down with cupped hands and submerging them underwater. It was cold for a moment until her hands adjusted to the chilly temperature like her legs had; but that escaped her mind as the light of the setting sun hit the liquid mirror she held in her hands.

Through the red and gold she could make out the vague outline of her face but it was so distorted that it didn't break the illusion. In her hands, she held the sun. Blazing, bright, and real.

"You're gonna get sick if you stay there for long."

"It's okay."

She could deal with sickness. She could deal with pain. But she would never again let anyone take away the world from her. The raw, cruel, and beautiful world they lived in. Moments like these where she could lose her mind to thoughts that came and went but that she never paid attention to were the ones she burnt into her memory the best.

They reminded her that it was real and alive—that _she_ was real and alive—and that meant there was still much more to do for her in this world.

 _So it's okay to stay here a little longer._

"Nagi."

Nagi took a deep long breath before letting go of her makeshift mirror and dragging herself back to shore and to Yori's side. Their slightly peeved expression made her scrunch her nose and smirk. "What?"

"I hate it when you get near water."

"I know how to swim." Her answer came swift and without a hint of hesitation.

"I don't."

"So if it's you who's phobic, why am I getting in trouble?"

"Because I can't save your sorry ass if you get dragged in," he retorted back more annoyed now and stepped back to walk towards the stairs leading back to the street. Making haste, Nagi took off her wet socks before putting her shoes back on and chasing after Yori.

"But I know how to swim," she repeated making sure they heard her this time. With Yori's silence as their reply, though, Nagi thought best to let that topic die there.

* * *

Sometimes Nagi wondered what sort of cruel karmic son-of-a-bitch god would curse her with having to get to school at this ghastly hour. She needed sleep for pete's sake. Now that homework and studying got added to her schedule, it left her with even less time to relax or even sleep for that matter. But she digressed; she'd dug this grave herself and now she'd have to lay on it for the next four days an hour before and after school.

 _Kill me now and spare me the misery._

The quietness that spread campus-wide was the smallest of blessings out of the crappy situation. It let her peruse the grand glass structures better but she refrained from taking her camera out. Nagi could almost imagine the gasket Aizawa would blow if she were late to detention that she got for _being_ late in the first place. Letting her fingers tap against the case instead, she pushed the urge back and walked straight to her classroom.

It was empty as expected. As it should be. _But no, I'm the idiot that's here at seven in the freaking morning._ Upset about that as she was, Nagi tossed her bag across the classroom aiming at her desk but it wonderfully missed and slid past it, knocking the one behind hers. Regret hit her almost instantly and she cringe at hearing the screech the metal leg made against the sleek tiled floor. Nagi zigzagged between desks to get to hers and picked her bags from the floor to place both on top of hers. Just as she sat down on her chair to rest, the door slid open and in walked Aizawa.

The mere sight of him meant that her work would start and that itself made her groan. A loud _thud_ resounded in the empty room when she let her face fall flat against her desk. Aizawa didn't pay her any attention for a few minutes and that gave her a false sense of hope that got shattered when he bopped her upside the head with a clipboard.

"...ow…" she groaned, her voice muffled against the smooth surface.

"Follow me."

It was only after she heard him take a few steps that she forced herself to get up and do as she was told. A loud yawn that she didn't bother hiding escaped her and she quickly wiped the tears that pricked at her eyes to scan the way they took to wherever Aizawa was taking her. It wasn't until after a few minutes of walking that Nagi found a sign to read above the set of doors that he walked into.

 _Staff Room?_

Trotting in after him before he closed the door, Nagi excused herself for intruding under her breath before peeking every which way. For some reason it surprised her to see most of the teachers there—preparing themselves for the day most likely. _What a drag._ No wonder Aizawa was so tired—she'd off herself if she had to be up at this hour or even earlier everyday. Nagi spared a glance to said homeroom teacher only to see him rubbing at his eyes before yawning. The moment she was about to feel bad for the poor guy, he opened a drawer where bunch of nutrition squeeze packs laid haphazardly and took one to slurp away at it.

 _And there went the last modicum of sympathy I had for you, Eraser._

After a fell gulp of it, Aizawa sat back on his chair and checked the papers on his clipboard while talking to her. "Let's see. You're going to be the first rotation on cleaning duty this week."

"Go me," she drawled, twirling her right arm after lifting it up and spinning her bracelet around her wrist.

"You're also prepping for each class except hero basics unless otherwise specified."

"Oh sure, take away the fun one." Aizawa raised his gaze briefly, an obvious tick starting on his right eye revealing his more than obvious mounting irritation at her which, in response, made her purse her lips and give a tight smile instead.

"And you'll help the other staff if they ask for you during their hours."

Her brow knitted together when nothing else got added to the list after a few moments. "That's it?"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow but it surprisingly didn't change any of his aloofness. "Want more?"

"Not at all!" she called out a little too loud. Apologizing to those there quietly and shoving her hands into the pockets of her blazer, she turned back to Aizawa. "It's just, well..." _I imagined his version of 'wasting time' to be more outlandish._ Maybe Chun-chan wasn't too off about him being more grounded as a teacher.

"If you're done talking to yourself, we've got class to prepare for." The deadpan comment prepared her a little for the stack of books he passed her way that was tall enough to reach her shoulders.

"Take half, Eraser," she whined. Aizawa blatantly ignored her and simply walked past her.

"On this campus, it'll be sensei to you. And it's detention for a reason, Chitanko, so you're getting no help this time around." He rectified the point quite sternly and stopped only to open the door for her to go first. Sulking somewhat as she went through, Nagi mocked his words under her breath. A considerably harder hit of a clipboard to the back of her head made her groan loudly. "You really need to wrangle that attitude of yours."

"What attitude?" Her annoyance flipped then to a flamboyant sweetness that she emphasized with a smile as she skipped a few steps and arranged the stack of books better against her chest. Might as well have some fun, she thought. "I'm perfectly lovable, dontcha think?"

"You're a perfect pain on my neck if that's what you mean. Especially when you flaunt unnecessarily like that."

Feigning awe, Nagi gasped loudly and superfluously raised her voice in indignation. "I _do not_ flaunt."

"What do you call your bursting in loud as can be from yesterday then?"

Her mouth fell open wanting to retort but when her brain couldn't come up with even a clever comeback, she opted to keep her mouth shut on that one—for about five seconds longer than usual. "Alright, so maybe I'm a little over the top sometimes."

"Any chance you get," he corrected. Finally reaching the classroom, he opened the door for her again and let her go in before following suit. Nagi didn't wait for him before dropping the books on top of the first desk that she came across, the weight shaking the desk beneath them and making metal legs scrape against tile.

"I'm just being extra for the sake of it," Nagi added and leaned her chin on the high pile. Aizawa tapped her shoulder, pointed at the books and then motioned at the rest of the desks. Clicking her tongue but knowing she couldn't complain lest she make things worse, she walked around taking a small pile at a time to distribute them around each. "'Sides, I can stop anytime I want."

"Then stop."

"But that takes all the fun out of things," she cried, smacking one of the books against the desk closest for emphasis. The edge of her lips lifted a bit at noticing how peeved this got him but also reeled back the elation when she realized she'd just proved his point.

"Like I told the rest yesterday, this isn't a place for you to fool around and have fun." Nagi stopped at the end of the row and, with her back still to him, listened attentively to the sudden flatness in his voice. Though he sounded detached, Nagi could tell that the intensity of his words said much more than the way he said them let on. "By coming to Yuuei you've set a clear goal to pursue and accomplishing it in three years will be nothing short of arduous. And you'll have to go beyond each and every obstacle that stands in your way to reach it."

There wasn't a way for Nagi to mistake the genuity of his words; she was aware of what he meant without him needing to say it. Fooling around and having fun wasn't her priority either but she thought that perhaps acting like such would make her just another bland student. Just another loud wallflower, and to be sure, one that would be easily dismissed as too much trouble to bother dealing with. And she was fine with that because it would let her do as she pleased without garnering too much attention. _That's the plan at least._

"I'd imagine you're not naive enough to make that mistake."

Nagi tapped the edge of the desk she stood by with the notebook she had yet to place down. "Mistake?"

"To think that being a hero will not push boundaries and force you to move forward. Yuuei's style is to hatch you hero eggs into full-fledged pros that will better the world, after all. There's no time to stand still anymore."

"Of course not, Aizawa-sensei," she replied after a moment and placed the book down on the desk at last before facing him. "I know that." _I came here knowing that._

Though her lips parted to say more, Nagi followed his advice for once and thought before speaking. Things were getting a tad bit dicey for her taste as they were. It was hard not to get carried away, truthfully, but she chided herself all the same for not being more wary in front of Aizawa. Much like Chun-chan, he tended to prod without actually asking too much. But Nagi suspected that unlike her dear ole shrink, he wasn't doing it on purpose.

 _Not all of it anyway._

To get things out of that uncomfortable ballpark, Nagi skipped back to the desk where the rest of the book pile was at and gingerly took another bunch. "Chun-chan says my flamboyance is a defense mechanism. I'm not too worried about it though since she says it could be temporal."

"I doubt it."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Era—" This time she wasn't lucky enough to get a clipboard to the head. Instead, a chill down her spine was the only warning she got before it happened. Too slow to react in time, the whack he gave her with the end of his scarf to the back of her head caught her sorely by surprise.

"What did I just tell you?"

The click of her tongue rang loudly and she scowled at him while rubbing at the sore spot. "What about Eraserhead-sensei?"

"No."

"Well fu—"

His eyes turned bright red in a blink of an eye— _don't laugh—_ and his dark hair stood on end along with his scarf. "And you better can it with the cheekiness."

"...yessir."

"Seriously," he groaned with a long sigh too loud not to be gratuitous, "I have enough with one of you."

Though curious about who that might be, she couldn't pinpoint exactly who even if she wanted to. They only had one short day yesterday and not many came forward wanting to be very chummy with her. All things considered, Nagi guessed that she would find out eventually. Smacking one of the desks in the front row once done, a lopsided grin came to her and skipped over to the podium to lean her chin on it.

"What next?"

"These." Aizawa took a page from his clipboard along with a map of the school and passed it over to her.

Nagi tapped the tip of her toes against the tiled floor as she eyed the list through, her expression souring with each subsequent item. _Here's the time waster I expected._ "You're gonna run me like a mule, huh?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said I'd waste your time," he reiterated as he headed over to the door to leave. "Think of it as a school tour if it bothers you that much." The door slid shut after him and once alone, Nagi couldn't drown the urge to scream any longer and crouched down to bury her face on her skirt to muffle it. Once that was out, she bounced back up and groaned.

 _Might as well._

* * *

It wasn't until ten minutes till homeroom was to start that Nagi was finally making her way back to class with yet another round of papers to hurl at her classmates; a pile less heavy than many of the others she'd carried in the past hour, fortunately. And though she disliked the idea, Nagi had to begrudgingly agree that Aizawa's statement hadn't been too far off. In the past hour of doing nothing but menial tasks, Nagi had roughly sketched in her brain the parts of school she went to. Not only that but prepping for her teachers also came with some perks; getting to meet them was one of them but the one she liked more was knowing what the day's lesson would be, something she appreciated since she sorely hated being taken by surprise.

Despite everything though, the tour was actually quite educational. So far she'd only been to the counseling office and computer room aside from her own classroom but after that hour, she'd been to half of the building's first floor already. For a change and with time to spare, she let herself dawdle and gawk at students that passed her in the halls.

Everybody seemed to be acquainting themselves quite well by the look of things. Some appeared to be schoolmates from middle school while others hitched friendships right away after their first day yesterday. And though overall Nagi tallied herself as highly disinterested in the whole idea, she did admit that the sight of such things made a part of her twist and yearn for it. Yori counted as a friend—they'd surely agree to that too—but she couldn't classify their bond as a simple friendship though. It wasn't anything romantic either. Sure, she cared about them plenty, but Nagi always found it hard to look at them _that_ way. If she had to give it a name, Yori would fall closest to being family. _A very annoying and ridiculous one._

That said, there wasn't a name or face that popped up when the word 'friend' came about. It made her wonder if Chun-chan's concern about her being friendless held any real weight.

" _As humans, we are social creatures,"_ she had said on the first couple meetings they had almost a year ago. _"We yearn contact with others in order to be acknowledged and to piece together our perception of 'self'."_

 _Bunch of bull._

Nagi didn't deny that they were social creatures—it was one of the reasons why she didn't completely dismiss Yori despite his teasing—but that they had to have those interactions to feel complete was something she just couldn't get on board with. But she supposed that things like that wouldn't matter in the end. Regardless of what Yori said, Nagi knew how to build friendships and have those types of connections, but she often found them useless when all was said and done. If nothing else, they served as networks to further one's place in life. She imagined there'd be exceptions to that like there was with everything else. Those who, like Yori, became something closer to family than simple friends; those exceptions were few, though, and in her case, rather rare.

 _Mostly my choice._

The tolling of the first bell snapped her out of her stupor and cut her dilly dallying short. Not wanting more days added, Nagi rushed through crowded halls and darting students, and found herself throwing aside the door to the classroom drawing all eyes to her. The sudden attention unnerved her for a second— _fucking hate people who stare—_ but it was quickly dissolved by a loud voice that called at her over the rest.

"Chitanko-kun! It's not necessary to apply such force. The door functions well enough to be slid with ease." The tall guy that reprimanded her did so with strange and rigid hand gestures, motioning from the door to her. A jet blue stare behind rectangular glasses held her in place as he motioned against towards her desk. "And please, refrain from your tardiness. It disrupts the whole class."

Not sure how it did when nobody was in their desks and just chatting away. _Remember, Nagi. Don't spew whatever comes to your mind._ Thinking on her feet for that one, she lifted the pile of paperwork to cover her face a moment before moving it aside to smile at him.

"Sorry, didn't think I pushed it that hard. But I'm here in time and I've got some stuff for everybody."

"Very well," he said— _Iida is engine calves. At least, I think so._ Iida nodded and sat back on his chair straight as could be.

That hurdled over with, she fully went into the class and closed the door as gently as she could behind her. Some shared friendly smiles with her while the rest deterred their gazes as everybody went ahead to get to their seats before the second bell rung. Nagi started passing stacks to each of the front desks, trying to recall names as she went.

The row closest to the door was the first and out of them, aside from Iida's earlier outburst, only one other perked up in conversation. "Good to see you didn't miss out on homeroom again!" Turquoise eyes spotted a pinkhead like her own but instead of straight long hair, hers was unruly and short. It was her eyes though, the black sclera with large yellow pupils, that Nagi recalled most from her entrance exam weeks ago.

"I'd hate to seeing as I've been here since seven," Nagi retorted with a smile of her own. The girl— _Ashido Mina, I think—_ grimaced at the mere sound of that and Nagi chuckled in agreement.

"C'mon, we thought you'd set another record today, Osoku-chan!" This time it was a boy from the next row that said that when she moved onto them. Nagi had been counting the worksheets under her breath but stopped thumbing through them when she heard him say that. _Blond, blond… There's four blonds but Kaminari was the darker one._

"Record?" She shook her head focusing on the other thing that caught her attention instead and her brow knit together in confusion. "Osoku-chan?"

"You know," the black-haired boy who sat a seat in front of her called out. _He's easy, odd elbows was Sero._ "Since you were so fashionably late yesterday?"

"Ah," Nagi mused as she continued on to the last row after that. "Well, here's to hoping that's the last record I break where that's concerned." Lifting her gaze to the last row, she passed the row's stack to invisible girl— _Hagakure's easy to remember too—_ before a pair of silver eyes met hers. Now done with her work, she filed down that last aisle to head to her seat but stopped briefly next to Yohsei's and gingerly smiled his way. "Morning, Yoh-chan."

"Oh, um, good morning, Nagi-san," he quietly replied and took the papers that were passed to him. Her brow furrowed again finding his skittishness somewhat strange but as she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, a familiar chill crawled on her back when Aizawa came into the room.

"If you're done, take a seat, Chitanko. The second bell rung ten seconds ago."

Her mind still on Yohsei, she rapped her knuckles against her thighs and mindlessly answered. "Heard ya loud and clear, Eraser—"

 _Shit!_ Too late to stop herself, she instantly knew what would come with half of his name escaping her mouth. Knowing that, instinct took over all at once. Pivoting on her right leg and turning back with her left, Nagi threw out her left hand intent on deviating the scarf. A useless endeavor seeing as it wrapped around her wrist instead, throwing her off enough to slip back and fall against the desks behind her.

An obnoxiously loud 'what the hell!' and a quiet but audible 'are you alright?' came to her ears but Nagi couldn't retort to either when her thoughts scattered to figure out why her Quirk failed to work on the scarf.

 _It doesn't have titanium alloy anymore, remember? Not after what happened that one time._

A nervous chuckle left her and she muttered 'right' under her breath at recalling that certain incident. The tug on her wrist made her snap out of it and turn to Aizawa who couldn't be anymore irritated if he tried. "Get up and get to your seat. Now."

The lingering shock left her speechless and she nodded to answer. Having that, Aizawa released her wrist leaving Nagi to fall further back against the desks and chair behind her.

"Get the fuck off already!" The loud profanities took her attention this time and behind her she blinked at the two who she stumbled against after that little show. An ash blond with piercing crimson eyes and a freckled plain face with messy green hair; on her way down, she had clung onto the latter's desk for balance and fallen half on the former apparently. Nagi blinked a couple of times before standing straight from the awkward position.

"My bad," she muttered under her breath still a bit dazed.

"It's alright," the plain looking one said with a meekish smile. "Are you okay though?"

Her mouth fell open but the daggers stabbing at the back of her head from Aizawa's glare promised her due comeuppance if she didn't do as she was told. Nagi met at the middle, giving him a mild nod before hurrying to her own seat.

"Midoriya. Bakugou. Straighten your desks."

Nagi kept an eye on the two of them, noting their mannerisms for how differing they were and finding the disparity a little more amusing that it should've been. Where one was quietly dutiful to Aizawa's instruction, the other muttered obscenities under his breath directed at her and obliged all the same. _They're Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki._ Nagi hadn't paid much attention to roll call the day before but she did remember reading all twenty-two names under 'Class 1-A' while working that morning. It's how she recalled the more obvious ones that stuck out like sore thumbs but had to actually rummage her brain for the rest.

Now it was just a matter of connecting faces to names. Well, for what that little humiliating show just now was worth, Nagi could scratch those two off the list.

* * *

There hadn't really been any particular expectations in Nagi's mind about what attending the famous Yuuei Academy would be like, but so far, the first half proved lackluster.

Foreign languages and history never gave her any troubles in middle school and were by far the easier subjects. It helped that Present Mic and Midnight were capable enough teachers on their respective fields as well. The fact she could memorize things easily helped a bunch too. That however didn't take away from how mundane they were. The same couldn't be said of Cementoss's and Ectoplasm's classes, though. Especially not when taking into account how much Nagi loathed reading and numbers. Though the latter depended on what the topic was and if she could plug-and-chug at all, literature just completely flew over her head no matter what the question. Even by the time lunch came around and the bell dismissed them, Nagi couldn't help the thoughts that swirled in her head about what she'd have to put extra attention to later on. The growl of her stomach halted her train wreck of thoughts, steering it away from that and towards food.

The sudden buzzing from her pocket startled her out of it just as she was getting up from her seat. Just as she was about to check it, though, footsteps bouncing up to her desk took her by surprise and got her to gaze up at a quartet of her classmates. The two she instantly recognized from before because of how they stood out were Ashido and Hagakure; both stepped forward alongside a bubbly pink-cheeked brunette and a stoic frog-like girl.

 _Froggy's Asui and the plain, round face was Uraraka, I think._ Though a bit perplexed, a corner of Nagi's lips lifted in a half grin as she set her forgotten phone aside. Wasting no time, Ashido perkily announced themselves with a wave of her hand and her pointing back at herself with her thumb. "Hey, Chitanko, wasn't it? Nice to meet ya! I'm Ashido—"

"Mina-san," Nagi completed after interrupting. Introductions were a waste of time, in her opinion, and she dealt with them pretty easily with a nod to each as she read the roll call in her head. "And Asui Tsuyu-san, Hagakure Toru-san, and Uraraka Ochako-san, right?"

Uraraka's eyebrows raised somewhat amazed. "You learned our names that quick?"

"Read them on the roster," Nagi admitted as she rose from her desk and pocketed her phone again. "Did you guys need something?"

"Yeah, actually!" Ashido instantly called out, her eyes vibrant and smile as wide as could be. Again the urge to photograph her because of how her looks piqued Nagi's interest came up but she brushed it aside to listen. "We wanted to invite you to lunch!"

Her eyes went a bit wide and blinked owlishly. "Lunch?"

"Yes." This time Asui replied as she lifted a long finger to her chin and tilted her head slightly to one side. "Mina-chan thought it'd be a good idea for us girls to have lunch together and get to know each other since we're so few compared to the rest of the class."

Thinking back to the roster she'd peeked at in the Staff Room, she tallied up the numbers and quickly compared them. _Oh, wow, it's really just seven of us._ "I hadn't thought about that before."

This time Uraraka stepped up, cheeks slightly puffed and hands fisted close to her chest. "Right? It's really sad, isn't it?!"

Hagakure's uniform came forward and the soft slam against her desk shocked Nagi a bit. "So we thought it'd be great to, you know, get to know each other if it's just gonna be us girls!"

Though not quite sure how that logic worked exactly, Nagi debated the idea for a second. There wasn't a reason to decline except, well, for that fact that she didn't really like eating around a crowd. She'd gotten used to eating by herself save for the times Yori visited—too many in her opinion. The idea didn't sound too horrible, though. It'd help her acclimate better into the boring wallflower she wanted to be and, if she played her cards right, she could even get that dreaded picture Suzume told her to get. Preferably of Ashido.

Mind made up, Nagi shrugged her shoulders but showed them a broad grin as she shoved her hands into her pockets. "Why the hell not?" She didn't expect them to cheer because she agreed but she scoffed and followed behind them all the same to the cafeteria. Once there, Ashido expertly maneuvered them through the crowd while telling the rest about the two missing girls. Apparently they'd left before Ashido got a chance to ask them.

Racking her brain to find the names connected to the missing faces wasn't hard. Yaoyorozu. _Pretty cute._ Jirou. _Earjacks._ Labeling others was fun to do so long as those names stayed in her head where they belonged. Most were temporary, really, till she could recall their names alone. Or not if she really liked her nicknames for them.

Their chatter boiled down to mostly Ashido and Hagakure taking the spotlight with Uraraka and Tsuyu putting their two cents where they wanted. It was a tad bit awkward for Nagi to stand and have nothing good to say. Emphasis on the 'good'—there were plenty of comments that popped at times that she deemed a bit too crude or rude to say in front of girls she barely knew. Their giddiness was pretty infectious, though, and got her to chuckle and smile here and there. Both Hagakure and Ashido were quite easy to be around with how friendly and outgoing they seemed to be. And despite being so talkative, none of them forced her to join if she didn't want to. Something very much appreciated, honestly.

Another round of quick laughter came through just as they neared the front of the line. When Uraraka's time to order came, Nagi's phone vibrated again from inside her pocket and brought back her mind to the texts she'd ignored. Taking it out and inspecting the unlocked screen, the number calling her didn't ring any bells but the name did. _Guess it's Ume's turn this time around._ But that struck Nagi as strange. Ever since she told them to stop, Yori refrained from texting her during the middle of the day. Her mood soured simply thinking of the many things that could've prompted the call.

A long finger tapping her shoulder made Nagi jump before turning to Asui who pointed towards the counter and the hero/cafeteria cook, Lunch Rush. "You're up, Chitanko-chan."

"Um." Her eyes darted between the vibrating phone in her hand and the busy hero that tapped at the counter hollering for the next person to step up. Hating to ignore her stomach, Nagi groaned and turned to Ashido and Asui still behind her. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check."

Asui and Hagakure seemed indifferent about her sudden excuse—at least one of them did—but that Uraraka's and Ashido's cheerfulness took a nose dive hit Nagi's gut hard. Disappointing others twisted it like that, especially when she caught glimpses of it right on their faces. It urged her to stumble for a better explanation and she raised the phone in her hands still blinking from the texts and calls she kept receiving by the minute. "I really need to get this."

"That's alright," Uraraka replied for them as she and Hagakure stayed a few steps behind to join them. "There's always tomorrow."

"Yeah!" Hagakure added, her tray and plate full of food jumping a bit to her motion. "You take care of your business and find us when you're done. We'll save you a seat!"

One corner of Nagi's lips upturned in thanks and as a silent apology before she took off in a sprint away from the ruckus of the cafeteria. The pang of guilt that twisted her insides stayed with her and only morphed into irritation the further she got from the cafeteria. Even if she hadn't been too keen on the idea of having lunch with them at first, Nagi wouldn't deny that a small part of her was glad they'd invited her. Frankly, it'd been years since she spent any time with anybody at school. Middle school had turned out to be an utter disaster for her after that year she missed out on, and her return hadn't been any easier with how the kids either spread ludicrous rumors about why she'd been gone or ignored her altogether. It hadn't been hard on her mostly because she hadn't cared much back then. Now...well, even when she didn't see much point in making friendships still, Nagi begrudgingly admitted that having other people to talk to aside from an obnoxious know-it-all like Yori would be a pleasant change of pace.

Her phone vibrated for the tenth time then and Nagi unlocked it to find fifteen unread messages and four missed calls brightening up her screen. And just as she was about to read those messages, her phone vibrated with another call. Nagi rolled her eyes and checked around to make sure she was mostly alone before answering and continuing her aimless stride through empty hallways.

"You better be dying," she deadpanned while keeping her eyes on the floor and skipping between tiles to direct her extra energy from being annoyed elsewhere.

 _"Aw, am I keeping you from eating?"_

"Bye."

 _"—no wait! I'm kidding!"_

"And I'm hungry," she retorted, kicking at the imaginary dirt on the tiles and punctuating her words with the hit.

 _"You ate so much this mor—That's not what I called for!"_ Nagi raised an eyebrow at their quick and loud enough recant and pulled her phone a few inches away from her ear; damn, their voice rang even without being on speaker. Well, at least now she knew they called for a good reason with how adamant they were being. With that little to go by, Nagi returned the phone to her ear and told them to make it fast.

The shaky chuckle that came through made her dread what they had to say. _"I might've busted your computer."_

The burst of emotions that came over her stopped her in her tracks. "You what?!"

 _"I was trying to crack through the code you had here!"_

"You were trying—" Baffled and utterly on edge, Nagi covered her face with one hand and groaned into it while attempting to quell her mounting anger. But it was hard. So, so, _so_ hard. "You don't even know how to do that," she hissed, wanting some clearer explanation on how they thought it'd be a _good_ idea to meddle with her precious computer that cost her months of overtime to piece together.

"Well, Ume knows a lot about computers, and I thought I'd give it a shot to make your job less since you're gonna have your plate full with school and all." The reason did extinguish some of the ire but only by a smidge. _"And I thought it'd be a piece of cake with how easy you make it look."_

 _That's because I was taught how to hack through complicated systems, you fucking idiot._

That thought stayed sensibly in her head though, and instead Nagi let out a heavy sigh through her nose letting the rest of her exasperation leave with it. "Does it turn on at all?" When they said it did, she thanked whatever god there was for that small blessing. "Leave it as it is for now. I'll try fixing it when I get home." Nagi clicked her tongue once that heart attack was over with still clearly upset at them. "Didn't I tell you the cat hadn't settled fully?"

 _"Yeah but I thought this wouldn't be much of a problem. You've cracked others overnight before."_

Their words made her reconsider what exactly to say to them to make them understand just how not simple this particular job was. Yuuei's system wasn't overly complicated at first glance but that wall that blocked her before was heavily loaded and the least she could do was tread through it with the care it required. Nagi knew exactly the kind of challenge it'd be to bypass the system of a school where not only pro heroes worked but where a highly intelligent pint-sized furball was principal: a real pain in her ass that she couldn't take lightly. Her little Trojan cat got far for its first run through but from what she uncovered the night before from going through the code of the wall that stopped it, it'd need a lot more than just a few pre-coded programs. The firewall was too detailed in programming, and even if she found a way around it, there wouldn't be any telling whether there'd be others like it or even harder waiting further in.

 _And for the information we want, I'm gonna need to scour every byte of that system._

Brute forcing her way through wouldn't cut it this time. These weren't petty companies or medical facilities that overestimated their security systems. This was an elite school that prided itself in making the heroes of tomorrow, and that took lots of security on their part to keep those heroes-to-be and their information safe. Too many unknowns existed that Nagi needed to account for and even far more security measures that she needed to prepare for as much as humanly possible. Whichever way she decided to approach this problem, there'd no doubt be problems.

Well, every way but one. But frankly, doing that wasn't something she particularly liked. _I've ruined enough lives already. I'm not down on possibly tallying another on that list if I can help it._

But there honestly wasn't time to explain that to Yori at the moment. Much less so when she stood smack in the middle of said place. Through a long sigh, she finally rid herself of whatever ill the call brought. "Just...don't touch it anymore. I'll work on figuring out the cat's problem tonight. Now, if that's all you needed from me, can I go eat now?"

 _"Sure. Still don't understand how you're hungry already though."_

"Cause I get hungry, unlike you." But her words dragged on halfway through her sentence when she heard rummaging in the background. "Are you in my apartment?"

 _"I'm cleaning~"_

"Get out, you deadbeat."

Yori completely ignored her warning and instead cheerfully exclaimed over the meowing that came from the other end. _"We'll see you at home!"_

"Yo—" The deafening click of him hanging up cut her short and left their name hanging from her lips. Another groaned escaped her accompanied this time by her growling stomach. Shit, she wasted a good while arguing with them. There was still some minutes left of lunch but with the crowd Nagi dreaded would still be in the cafeteria, she knew she'd be lucky if she got any food at all.

"Damn it, Yori." Going off on a sprint, she hoped that there would be at least some yakisoba pan left to munch on. No doubt she'd need the carbs for her afternoon classes.

* * *

Hero Basic Training—the highlight of the nation's top hero academy that churned out pro heroes like a bakery did fresh bread by the baker's dozen. Countless of students rose every year from the prestigious school and became pro heroes that protect their country and its citizens. Aside from being the prime hallmark of Yuuei, it was Nagi's last hope in redeeming an otherwise horrid day.

But the thought of bread led to her stomach growling rather loudly over the quiet chatter that flitted through the crowded classroom. The bell had yet to ring but with it only being a few minutes from doing so meant that most of her classmates were already there and she just knew that some of them could hear the loud rumbling that came from her. Groaning at hearing it again, she let her face fall forward against the sleek desktop and uselessly wrapped her arms around her abdomen trying to quiet the noise.

"Sounds like someone didn't have enough for lunch." Her head turned up to the right corner where she spotted a spiky redheadsmiling back at her with a somewhat knitted brow. _Kirishima was the only redhead_.

At first she grumbled not wanting to recall the fiasco that had been lunch. The thought alone that she had just missed the last yakisoba pan was enough bad luck to put her on edge, but that she also forgot her wallet back home turned what had started out as a crappy day into utter dogshit. And although she found enough loose change in her bag to get something from the vending machine, the strawberry yogurt drink she chugged down served only to momentarily soothe over her hunger.

Lifting her chin to face him better, she opened her mouth and meant to get him off her case when another much louder growl interrupted her. Though somewhat humiliated by it and the laughter that came from Kirishima and Sero in front of her, she held her tongue from retorting the words her mind had in stock for them. Instead she plastered her face back on top of her desk to hide the warmth that started climbing up her cheeks.

 _God, is this really my punishment for being late? If so, I promise I'll wake up early every freaking day if you just...feed...me._

The soft crunching of plastic close to her head perked up her ears and made her look up to find an unopened pan. The plastic wrapped bread disappeared quickly into her grasp but just as she was about to pry it open, her hands stopped long enough to peer over at Kirishima who only grinned from ear to ear.

"It's an extra one I took for later, but it's all yours. Dig in!"

No need to tell her twice. Thanking him under her breath, Nagi popped the bag open and wolfed through half the curry pan within seconds. For a moment, she stopped to briefly savor the simplicity of the fried bread filled with beef curry. There was just something so gratifying about how delicious a meal was when starving. A chortled made her halt to look up at Sero who grinned and placed a bottle of water on her desk.

"Don't choke there, Osoku-chan."

Nagi took another bite of the fried bread before taking a satisfying gulp of the water to swallow it down with. Taking a brief pause, she cleared her throat before sparing a glance to the two of them. "Thanks." That had been all she meant to give them but thought better of it and spoke through a mouthful of curry. "Kirishima and Sero, right?"

"You got it," Kirishima replied and pointed a thumb at himself.

Sero snickered at her manners before pointing out, "And what can we call you aside from Osoku-chan?"

 _Not that?_ she wanted to spit out but refrained with a shake of her head and thought up a more decent way to say that. "My name'd be nice."

"Chitanko isn't very cute, though," Sero said.

"Ditto," she managed to mutter through another bite.

"What about Chi?" Kirishima offered with a toothy grin that Nagi found rather dashing in a boyish way.

"Chi?" The picture of a meowing grey and white kitten striped black popped into her head. Not disliking the idea as much as 'Osoku-chan,' she shrugged it off and took another bite of her bread.

"Chi it is," Sero said with small tap to her desk. With a glance to Kirishima, both threw a fist into the air in triumph together. Though lost somewhat at what made them so enthusiastic, she decided to mindlessly join in on the celebration of her new nickname and mildly raised a fist alongside them. _Well, better than Osoku-chan._

Thankfully, the first bell rang at that moment and with everyone hurrying to get back to their seats, she found her time to eat in peace...which was about a few seconds before the door swung open with a force strong enough to make the frame shake. Taken unawares and in the middle of a bite, Nagi tried not to choke on the piece in her mouth as All Might strode into their classroom. The chatter came back full blown at the entrance of the No.1 hero and did well to cover up the horrid sound of her coughing to clear her airway. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes by the time she spared a glance to their Basic Hero Training teacher in all his glory.

 _He's wearing his silver age costume._

The thought came from somewhere deep in the bank of meaningless facts lodged in her brain as she watched alongside her class as the prominent hero crossed the room. Though a small part of Nagi was quite excited about the idea of the number one hero in their country teaching them, it was smothered quickly by the most jaded part which prompted her to finish her bread in one bite and crumple the leftover plastic in her hands to throw away later.

But by the sound of it, 'later' would come after a long day of faux heroics.

"No time to dally. Today's activity is this!" All Might produced a card with the word 'BATTLE' written in bright bold letters. "Battle training!"

 _Well, I should be happy it's something I'm good at._

"And for that you'll need these." He pressed a button of the control he had at hand and beside him the walls clicked before slots opened outwards. From what Nagi could see, each slot was numbered with pristine suitcases inside and inside those suitcases, All Might proudly announced, were their costumes. In spite of herself, her heart raced at the idea of finally donning such thing.

There'd be no more hiding or sneaking around for her. From now on, she'd start doing things the right way.

"After you change, come out in ranking order to Ground Beta." Her ears tingled at the blaring and cheerful agreement of her classmates and she shuddered herself expectantly at finally having a worthwhile lesson. The feeling fueled her on as she joined the rest of her classmates in getting their costumes.

* * *

 _This place…_

If Nagi was remembering correctly, it was where she'd taken the entrance exam. Or at least one that looked quite similar to it. She supposed that the cityscape was quite a good basic simulation to use for starters. It would certainly benefit her with her Quirk.

"Chi, is that you?"

It took Nagi a moment to recognize that it was her they were calling and turned to find Sero and Kirishima coming her way. Though their costumes were nothing special on their own, she supposed that it gave away quite a lot about their personalities. Kirishima's, despite a tad bit odd according to her, was edgy and not just because of how his headgear made his hair spikier than before. Guess it complimented his jagged teeth too. Sero's was quite the treat though and a tiny burst of the laughter she was trying to keep back betrayed her.

"...tape dispenser."

He burst out in indignation, lifting the dark vizor of his helmet to glare rather peeved at her. "Hey! I'm not saying anything about yours."

"Speaking of which, you seem to be into the simple stuff." Kirishima gestured to her with a fell swoop of his hand.

Realizing he was talking about her costume, Nagi spared a moment to study it closer. During the registry, she hadn't put much of anything in regards to details. In fact, if she recalled correctly, the only thing she specified was for it to have some sort of titanium accessories in bulk that wouldn't hinder her arms too much. Everything concerning the design, she left to them much to Yori's chagrin after having pled day after day to let them design it. Opening the suitcase for the first time to change into what she found inside had been a surprise in of itself. And with trying to figure out how to wear it taking most of her time, Nagi hadn't looked herself in a mirror before leaving the changing room. But looking at herself now, she disagreed with Kirishima.

She wore fitted sleeveless jacket over her brassiere that was cropped short over her stomach. Since it zipped from the side, it crossed over the top of her chest and ended at a high collar. It was an okay color in her opinion; an off shade of white with rose gold accents on the slightly scrunched high collar and the strip that laid over the zipper to hide it. Two black buttons kept the collar up and matched color with the fitted pants cut above the ankles. It impressed her that they were more comfortable than they looked; they felt like leggings, really, and the comfort was welcomed. Over them she wore an overskirt that flounced to her knees; it was light and a darker shade of the rose-gold. What mattered to her, though , was that encrusted on the surface and trimmings were palm-sized titanium shards matching the rose gold color of her jacket making it shimmer in the light. Pure as they were, Nagi found them easy to play around with however she wanted. Aside from the shards, they added anklets, arm cuffs and an extra pair of rose gold titanium accessories to her arsenal. At least they honored her request. Staring down at her feet, she clicked the dirty sneakers together and grimaced at how they clashed with her costume's color scheme. Complaining now would be childish though since she hadn't requested for anything specific to being with.

 _Simple would be the last word I'd use._ And like hell would she be caught with something like this outside of class. Guess her indifference came to bite her on the ass in the end. Good thing they allowed costume changes because she'd definitely be looking into that after today.

"Now then. Shall we begin, my wards?" All Might hollered with much enthusiasm. "It's time for battle training!"

A full body armor raised their hand in front of her and Nagi tilted her head pondering who that could be. "Will we be performing cityscape maneuvers once again?"

Her ears perked at that voice. _Straight-Laced Iida_. All Might was quick to rebut him. "Nope. You will move onto step two: indoor anti-personnel training."

"Cool," she muttered under her breath with a grin ghosting her lips at the idea of what that could possible entail. Nagi listened intently to All Might's explanation of the exercise while adjusting the added bracelets and arm cuffs on her.

Two on two indoor battles with villain and hero teams. Apparently a concept that wasn't clear enough for some. Questions were thrown left and right by some she recognized and others she didn't. Nagi made a mental note to at least have her classmates down by the end of the day before paying attention to the scenario given to them. It wasn't too far off from the stereotypical western comic stories Nagi read sometimes. It was a race against the clock to capture or protect a nuclear weapon while fighting the opposite team. If heroes captured the villains or secured the weapon, it was a win for them. But if villains captured the heroes or protected the weapon until time ran out, it was their win.

"Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots!" From goodness knew where, All Might produced a box with 'Lots' written in front. "Now, step up everybody and take yours."

Stuck in the middle of the line that formed, Nagi made an effort to gauge the rest of her class and stood on her tiptoes to look over the ice-covered shoulder of the boy in front of her. As the line moved, Nagi hopped to follow but when she tried moving and looking back at the same time, she tripped a bit and stumbled back. Something hard hit her back and she stepped away before turning to a familiar crimson glare.

"The hell's your problem?" Nagi eyed him and recognized Bakugou's ash blond hair and ever-glaring eyes peeking from underneath his mask. Her eyes swept over his costume, taking in every little detail until she spotted the grenade-like gauntlets strapped to his arms. _Must've been what hit me._

"Fucking move already, pink shit."

An eyebrow lifting at that, Nagi showed no other sign of acknowledging his words but did start walking backwards, careful to not bump into the person ahead of her. A lopsided grin slowly formed on her lips at how his face contorted more and more with blatant aggravation from her staring. Like a bomb ticking down the seconds till it exploded. Must've been a short-ass fuse because he went off just a few seconds later when she stopped in front of All Might.

"If ya got something to say, then spit it out, damn it!"

She ignored his yelling and instead turned to stick her hand down the box and pull out a small plastic ball with the letter 'J' on it. Turning back to Bakugou, her lopsided grin became a full-on smirk before her face scrunched up. "Too gaudy."

"What!?"

Laughing as she ran away towards the crowd that had already gotten their letters, she watched over her shoulder as All Might got his attention to get his own. Bakugou did as he was told, sticking his hand in the box and rustling the inside before jerking away his letter without even looking at it. Playing with the little ball in her hands, she skipped over to Ashido who chuckled at the exchange.

"You like picking on others?" she asked with a snicker.

"Only when they're easy to goad." With how easy that had gone, Nagi didn't mind telling her the truth. _Yori's rubbing off on me_. Kirishima, one of the first ones to get his letter, scoffed at her childishness which made her chuckle even more. There wasn't much time to talk after that since All Might called their attention once everyone finished picking their slots.

"Let's see now who's partnered with who." He called the letters out loud and one by one, her classmates partnered into duos. As that went on, Nagi counted and named each out in her head, cementing their names with their faces.

Midoriya and Uraraka. Todoroki and Shouji. Yaoyorozu and Mineta. Bakugou and Iida. Ashido and Aoyama. Satou and Kouda. Jirou and Kaminari. Asui and Tokoyami. Hagakure and Ojiro. Kirishima and Sero.

 _That's twenty...which leaves me and—_

"And that would leave you two for the last team, Young Chitanko—" He brandished out his arm towards the small, hunched over figure that was Yohsei fumbling in his hero costume at the sudden attention. "—and Young Kisaragi."

Her turquoise eyes met his silver across the crowd and though he tugged at his floppy ears timidly, he nodded at her in acknowledgement. A feral, lopsided grin came to her lips at just how utterly perfect things had turned out.

 _Oh, we've got this in the bag._

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _Another long one. Thought the lengthy chapter thing would only be for the first chapter but I might be wrong on that one. Anyway, I've got a little less to say this time. Most of my A/Ns are short and to be point aside from giving some thanks where thanks are do._

 _First to the lovelies who favorited and followed this little big story of mine. You're a great part of the reason I keep writing because it lets me know that someone's interested on hanging on there as this progresses. So thank you to_ _ **Shiranai Atsune**_ _,_ _ **Procrastinatingismyforte**_ _,_ _ **FarFromTheSun**_ _,_ _ **ALofOfNerdyThings**_ _,_ _ **Aviantei**_ _,_ _ **animegirl3774**_ _,_ _ **Cerin Star**_ _,_ _ **You Are So Wonk**_ _,_ _ **Elizabetch**_ _,_ _ **GlaresThatKill**_ _,_ _ **EdgeColombus**_ _,_ _ **acheneflair**_ _,_ _ **Lavenderstitches**_ _, and_ _ **animefairy299**_ _! You all are the greatest lovelies ever_

 _Also a huge thanks to **Aviantei**! I know you'll always be there to lift my spirits with a review! And I'd love to hear from all you guys too, so don't be shy:)_

 _Well, for now that's really all I have to say. So I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next one too!_

 _\- Evie_


	3. Caesium

**iii.|** **Caesium**

— _The most reactive of all metals; it is one of a silvery-gold color and also one of the five that are liquid at room temperature. Derived from 'caesius' meaning sky blue in Latin due to the bright blue lines emitted on a spectrum and the colour of its flames._

* * *

Dark rooms were a comfort to Nagi. Especially when illuminated by the faint LED glow of computer screens. It was a tad bit hard to explain what made such atmosphere so relaxing to her. Maybe it had to do with how the darkness gave off a sense of privacy, a place where she could simply be and feel untouched and apart from the rest of the world. Maybe the familiarity of bright screens glaring back with such blinding neon colors made her feel more at home with the hours on end she spent in front of her own laptop.

Nagi would guess a combination of the two if she had to. But the fact that a multitude of people were with her shattered some of that illusion. All Might swiftly herded them to the basement of one of the many buildings in the cityscape, the one the teams would use for their battle. They were to watch from CCTV the fights as the exercise went on apparently.

"You will learn from not just experience but from observation," he said as he placed a small device in his ear. Her head tilted slightly to one side, curious to what it might've been but his flamboyance took too much of the spotlight for her to wonder for too long. "Be sure to do both, young wards. You will be continuously tested in your knowledge alongside your battle expertise in this exercise." The whole class replied unanimously with a loud 'yes'.

Hers was a quiet one for her attention zeroed in on the screens as they turned to their respective cameras. Narrow corridors and open rooms were mostly in view; there wasn't much diversity in their interior. What it lacked in variety, it very well made up size though. With the building being well over five stories tall and quite the decent size to boot, it'd be easy for those acting as heroes to get lost if they couldn't memorize the map quick enough. But the narrow corridors and lackluster interiors also posed a problem for those taking the role of villains. The weapon couldn't be moved from its place which meant that they would have to reinforce or protect its location. Of course, that would be if they didn't just decide to pursue the heroes altogether instead.

 _Decisions, decisions._

"Ah, they're in!" Ashido called as she stood in front of her.

Her attention was rapt on the screens at first, gaze flitting between each one until she spotted the hero duo that had infiltrated the building. Midoriya and Uraraka—thinking of them made her realize what she didn't know about them. After having missed the apprehension test during the first day, Nagi already stood a step behind the rest where knowing their Quirks was concerned. Very few seemed discernable at a glance while the rest were an utter mystery. A part of her hoped that Yohsei would let her in on those details when they got into the wringer themselves. The reminder of being in a team with him brought the ghost of a grin to her lips. She certainly lucked out on that one. Sure, it'd been a few years since they had seen each other, much less talked, but Nagi had no doubt in her mind that if he was still the same old Yohsei she remembered, then this lesson wouldn't be a problem.

Turning to the screen and putting more attention to the team displayed, her mind wandered back to the duo. Uraraka didn't seem like the fighting type though without knowing her Quirk, it was hard to tell if that was even necessary of her. Midoriya didn't look like much either. Overall, the hero team didn't appear too menacing as things stood. Bakugou and Iida on the other hand—

A bright explosion burst taking the whole of one of the screens, garnering gasps from the rest of her classmates and one small grape-baby to call out Bakugou's sneak attack. _Explosions?_ Now that Nagi thought about it, she did remember having seen one on her first day. So that had been him.

"That's low, Bakugou!" Kirishima remarked, "Sneak attacks are so unmanly!"

"A valid strategy nonetheless," All Might added, taking a pen into his hand to jut down in a hurry across a clipboard that laid on a small table beside him. "This is a practical exercise after all."

Out of the blue, Ashido latched onto Nagi's shoulder and excitedly shook her back and forth. "Didya see that! That Midori sure can dodge."

"Midoriya." Her correction given, Nagi pried off Ashido's pinkish grasp after a pat or two didn't get the message through. "And he sure can."

A bit more invested now, she regarded their movements closer through each camera as the fighting ensued. She'd give Bakugou credit. For all his boisterous shouting and profanities, his agility and speed were something to be reckoned with. Midoriya though seemed to be in the knowhow of Bakugou's fighting-style and in few moves almost had the livid boomstick's leg tied up in capture tape. And all without using his Quirk.

It exhilarated Nagi to witness such prowess on display. Despite her weapon of choice being more along the lines of a good tongue lashing, she didn't shy away from a brawl if things came down to that. And for as much as she liked thinking her somewhat abrasive nature tempered under wide grins and snarky remarks, there came times where words just didn't have the same impact as a well-placed punch. Which was why she could appreciate the kind of effort both guys were putting into their exercise.

Brutal. Ferocious. Instinctive.

Tactical. Collected. Clever.

The edge of her lips lifted at realizing what this battle really showcased from her two classmates: intuition versus strategy.

Midoriya booked it after failing to tie Bakugou down and gave themselves, along with everybody in the monitor room, a moment to collect themselves from the sudden adrenaline rush of the fight.

By the back end of the crowd, Kaminari gave a short low whistle. "He looks angry. Kinda scary."

Nagi gave her piece unable to keep to herself. "He's prowling."

"Prowling?" Satou repeated curious at her choice of words. "You mean like an animal?"

She gave a curt nod. "A very riled up one to boot. Angry ones are easy to read though if you know where to look."

"And where would that be exactly, Young Chitanko?" All Might's question threw hrt a bit off of her high horse. Things weren't made any better when she noticed her classmates' eyes on her too. The sheer realization of them gawking put her on edge and with her arms crossed over her chest, her nails dug into them to distract her long enough to answer his question.

"Their eyes."

Lifting a finger to her cheek and tilting her head, Asui turned fully towards Nagi. "Eyes?"

"Most people—especially those who fight close range like they're doing—telegraph attacks by sight. I mean, obviously, you have to look at what you're hitting but this is much subtler. It's a small movement, almost like a twitch to scope out their target before they blink, but I saw Bakugou doing it. Midoriya too." Peering down at the shorter girl and those large, charcoal eyes of hers unsettled her but she feigned a smile through. _Might not apply to you though._

"Really?" Kaminari asked, coming closer and stepping between her and Asui. "I just saw them blink a bunch."

Before Nagi could clarify, another voice came through. "They targeted each other between that." Turning to the other side of the class, she spotted the white-haired boy that spoke out of turn. He wasn't striking at all, though he did stick out like a sore thumb with how that ice covered half his body. The blank, aloof stare unnerved her plenty though and got her to avert her sight back to All Might as he clarified.

"Yes, one well-trained to calmly assess the situation while fighting can predict close range attacks not only by their movements but also by their sight. Both focus and vision narrows when adrenaline rushes through one's body and although it is an advantage to them, it can also be used against their favor."

 _Basically._

Kaminari didn't seem all that convinced still but the subject dropped when out of nowhere the whole ground beneath their feet shook. Nagi's eyes darted back to the screens and all she saw was an array of blinding orange, yellow, and white as the huge explosion Bakugou shot from his gauntlet consumed a good portion of the building and shook it in the process. Midoriya managed to dodge that somehow, receiving some mild burns by the look of things as reward.

 _But still...that explosion's going a bit overboard for an exercise._

By the sound of things, some thought the same as her; it took Kirishima to say it aloud for them. All Might refused with a stern 'no'. He did warn Bakugou against using that again, though. That stepped on Bakugou's breaks _somewhat_ by how annoyed he appeared on the screen. Didn't dishearten him in the least however. Bakugou continued his hunt and finally found Midoriya to corner him.

The sudden turn Bakugou took to get behind Midoriya took her by surprise. She hadn't been the only one either. Ice boy Todoroki and Yaoyorozu's explanation made Nagi rethink her own assessment of the fight. Had she misjudged him? Maybe both of them by how Midoriya ran away from Bakugou's relentless attacks. Many of her classmates begged All Might to stop the fight. That he wouldn't hit Nagi as strange but there wasn't much time to think about that when the two of them run straight for one another.

One, palm raised and popping of with mounting blasts and the other, fist held tight and lunging forward to strike. Bakugou's explosion hit his target dead on, and so did Midoriya's. It just hadn't been Bakugou. The building shook again from Midoriya upper cutting the air and destroying the building from his floor up with the sheer pressure of his hit. It wasn't until Uraraka hit her homerun and captured the weapon, though, that Nagi understood what their plan had been.

A freaking risky and idiotic plan but one that won them the exercise.

 _Not without its toll though._

"...everyone." They turned to All Might who even after announcing the hero team's win, was engrossed on the screens that showed the aftermath of the battle. "Exit the building and wait outside. We'll resume the exercise after I take a look at them."

Muttered agreements floated around the room and they filed out of the basement, careful to avoid the debris made by the gigantic explosion from a few moments ago. All Might met them back with the two teams minus Midoriya who'd been sent to the nurse's office. Pity. He did okay in spite of mangling himself with that kamikaze tactic.

After they situated themselves in a new monitor room, All Might named Iida the MVP of the exercise as well. She could see why, too, after hearing Asui's particular question of why it hadn't been someone from the winning team.

"I wonder why?" All Might's sing-song tone peeved her. It reminded her too much of Suzume's condescension. "Anyone know?"

Though she had an idea, Nagi didn't bother raising her hand unlike Yaoyorozu beside her. Tagging along in her mind, she tallied her own reasons as Yaoyorozu went along pointing out the flaws of their tactics.

 _Bakugou destroyed his own hold in his rampage. Midoriya did the same acting out his plan. Uraraka's focus slipped and she's got no proper attacks with her Zero Gravity. As for Iida…_

Nagi eyed the spectacled classmate of hers and chuckled seeing him be so touched by Yaoyorozu's analysis. _Turbo boy did his best for sure._

After Yaoyorozu's expert analysis there wasn't much left for All Might to add. Nothing groundbreaking, anyway. "We're starting at the bottom and working our way up." she said, her sensible words accentuated by her hands on her hips. "And if we don't earnestly cheer each other on, we'll never be top heroes."

"Preach, queen," Nagi mumbled under her breath but seemingly a little too loud. Yaoyorozu turned, dark eyes trained on her own quizzically.

"Queen?"

Scoffing but hiding it behind her hand, Nagi shook her head and smiled at Yaoyorozu's cluelessness. "No, forget it. Just a compliment." Though not convinced judging from her raised eyebrow, she let it slide when All Might announced that they'd be continuing with their exercises.

More invested now than ever seeing that there were some good minds around here that could evaluate their fighting, a grin grew on Nagi's lips as the excitement boiled the blood in her veins. Bouncing on one foot, she waited eagerly for their turn.

* * *

Impatient as she was, Nagi admitted that getting to watch the rest of her class go ahead of her and Yohsei made for a good learning experience. It gave her what she missed on the first day, a way to gauge their abilities. Many stuck out, though the two entered by recommendations did most of all. And from the whole class, some could pose a really bad match-up.

Half-and-half'd be one of them. Close combat fighters too. She trusted her abilities to keep them at a distance though, so they wouldn't be too much of a problem. Anything else would be fair game. Especially with Yohsei in her team. But as the teams dwindled and the class finished analyzing the latest battle, Nagi noted something oddly peculiar.

Her non-stop bouncing since the first battle made her raised hand all the more noticeable and All Might turned to look her way. "Yes, Young Chitanko?"

"Yeah, how's this gonna work with us being an uneven number of teams again?"

"Simple." Was it? Curious about his confidence, she raised an eyebrow. All Might went to reply quickly and held aloft the black 'J' ball in his hands to show it to both members of said team. "Since you will be a villain team, we need another acting as the heroes." He then turned to the rest of the class. "That being the case, those who took the role of villains in their own exercises may volunteer to try again as heroes."

 _That's his simple answer?_

Ashido pouted, childishly stomping her foot on the ground. "Aw, no fair!"

"Hey, cool!" Kirishima called, instantly raising his hand in the air. "I'm down for that."

There didn't seem to be a problem on All Might's end at his volunteering. "Anybody wish to join Young Kirishima against them?"

Sero stepped up alongside him, nudging Kirishima and putting a hand to his flexed arm. "What do you say we give this another shot as a team then?" The camaraderie between them already built, they shook on it before giving their answer to All Might.

"Very well," the pro hero said. "Young Chitanko, Young Kisaragi, have these." The micro transceiver dropped into her open palm and bounced a couple of times with her. It was barely the size of a korn kettle and fit snugly into her ear. "Now, the exercise will begin shortly after you get to where the nuclear weapon is. Make haste."

Bumping Yohsei's shoulder with her own, Nagi smirked and skipped back before pivoting to bound out of the monitor room with the other three following behind her. Once outside, Kirishima and Sero stopped by the entrance of the building and called out to Nagi.

"No hard feelings if we win, right, Chi!"

A lopsided grin came to her at hearing that from them and the bounce in her step didn't stop even as she turned to them. "Only if that goes both ways, boys!"

Spinning back around, Nagi followed Yohsei as he found the stairs and began making his way towards where their map said the weapon was. Walking behind him let her not only brush her hand against the walls of the building as they walked but also survey his costume that she hadn't put much attention to. When they finally found the paper mache bomb she got the full view. Though the components were plain and, dare she say, maybe a little bit tacky, it came together alright. With a tight, black sleeveless shirt and white tactical pants as the base, he wore what looked to be a lightweight breastplate of cobalt metal lined with black. The yellow utility belt around his waist matched his ankle combat boots making a jarring combo that clashed a bit against the dark blue.

"It-It looks pretty big to be paper mache." Yohsei poked it once to make sure, adjusting his black combat gloves before turning to her. Through the white mask that covered his face and swept some of his blue tresses back against his ears, his silver eyes met hers somewhat less skittish. Seemed like getting into the exercise let him shed some of that. "W-Well, um, maybe we should think of a plan—"

"Already have one."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm gonna capture them before they can get here."

Yohsei grimaced not liking how troublesome that sounded. "I-It's not like I'm saying you can't but, um, wouldn't guarding it be—I don't know—easier for us?"

"Are you really up to fighting them if they get here?" she deadpanned, taking steps closer to the weapon short hops with either leg at a time. Silver eyes widened a little and his long ears twitched at that before he shrunk back into himself. One of his hands reached up to tug at one of his ears before shaking his head, eyes shifting every which way except to her. Not minding that for now, Nagi bent her neck back to relieve a bit of the tension there. "Thought so. Trust me, getting them before they get to us will be better. And with your Pixies and my Titanium Touch, it'll be a piece of cake."

Still unconvinced, he raised his voice a bit to be heard over her. "A-Are you going to fight them head on?"

She shook her head, bouncing around to meet his skirmishing gaze while flexing each finger from each hand to relieve the aching from the pent up energy there as well. "Not head on, if we can help it. You know I'm not good with you close range fighters. But look at this playground I've got!" Brandishing her hands out might not have been the best idea seeing as the moment she did, the entire building shook slightly from being under her control. Cringing at the unintentional move, she shared a lopsided grin with him in reassurance. "Besides, all you gotta do is protect the weapon and I'll do all the rest. That way you won't get hurt either. See? Easy."

"Y-Yes but—"

With how quiet his voice was, All Might's roared 'start' over the speakers in the building and in their transceivers drowned the protests. Full of pent up energy, Nagi let out an enthused chuckle and bounced between both feet to keep up her momentum.

With a lofty wave of her hand, Nagi turned to him and gestured towards the weapon with her chin. "Shield up, Yoh-chan. You'll be safe there."

Uneasiness came through his pursed lips and averted gaze but with how steadfast Nagi was about this being their winning plan, there wasn't a point in arguing. Yohsei, sighing in utter defeat, turned to the crafted weapon and laid his hand on it with fingers sprawled across it. Swirls that turned into patterns throughout the length of his forearms appeared like dark ink and glowed a slight purplish-blue hue on his skin. The outline of others appeared in quiet resonance to its brethren being used—those that ran up along his ankles ending above his boots and the one over his heart that peeked from underneath his armor and top slithering to life.

It truly had been years since Nagi last saw Yohsei's Symbiotic Ink at work. When they were kids, they'd dubbed them pixies because of their strange glow and winged or fairy-like patterns they took on his skin and also because of just how magical his Quirk looked to her. The pix on his arms slithered away from his skin and into the air between him and the weapon. Blinking into glittering shape, they briefly took the shape of tiny fairies before bursting out into sparkling dust that floated outward around him and the weapon. Once dispersed far enough, Yohsei let the dust reform into the spherical shield of gleaming blue and purple crystal Nagi recognized all too well.

It looked like glass, but Nagi learned long ago that it was way stronger than that. His own stamina took the shape, its thickness and strength a telltale of its strength and duration, and so long as he could muster the might to, it would withstand a storm.

At seeing him safe there, Nagi finally stopped bouncing on her feet and took a deep breath to prepare herself. The moment she did her muscles and whole body roared with the pent up energy that she'd garnered through the hour of moving. With this much at the ready, throwing some heavy hits would be easy but using it all at once would be a waste. Partitioning the kinetic energy well would be key if she wanted to pack a good punch against Kirishima's hardening. Sero would only really be a problem if they reached the floor she and Yohsei were on.

 _Let's aim for least resistance._

And having a clear target would certainly help with that. Crouching, Nagi reached to touch the floor beneath her and activated her Quirk fully. The full load of her control added weight to her body in the breath it took to activate it and like blood rushing through veins, her control swept through the whole edifice to reach the titanium alloy and returned to her creating a vague sketch of the frame underneath the concrete.

Five floors. Depending on how thick, she'd be able to break through the concrete enveloping the beams with the least amount of energy expended. But she couldn't quite pinpoint Kirishima's and Sero's location through the sheet of concrete over the titanium she controlled.

"Yoh-chan, could you scout for them?" Turquoise eyes peered over her shoulder to see Yohsei jump in his skin at being called out so out of the blue.

"You mean...with my ears?" he asked. When she nodded, he gave her a pensive hum and tugged even more at his ears. "I-It may be tough. My hearing isn't the best."

"It's better than mine," she assured.

Yohsei heaved a sigh but obliged all the same. Ears that spent most of their time drooping on either side of his head perked up and exposed themselves to the open. Those ears didn't really resemble any particular animal but if she had to name the closest, it'd be a mix between a bat's and a shepherd's. They were as cute as they were perceptive. When he didn't seem to catch a sound simply by listening, he kneeled and pressed the side of his head and one ear to the floor. It wasn't until his other one twitched that he raised his head, eyes somewhat wide in panic.

"They're a floor below us."

 _Shit._ "Where?"

Yohsei pointed to the general direction just left of the weapon. With a target in mind, she hoped they were fast enough to dodge her attack. Nagi took a running start from the middle of the room and within a few feet of the spot Yohsei pointed, kicked off and flipped to land there with her arm arching over her to slap down beneath her upon landing. Some of the energy released upon contact and her muscles strained as the titanium beam shot out as a spike onto the floor below them. The whole building shook the moment the spike broke through the concrete beneath her and pierced further into the one below.

His ears perked to the left from hearing shouts and Yohsei's eyes followed in that vague direction. "Down the hall."

Grinning, Nagi ran hunched over keeping in touch with the floor to drag the spike fully across the hall and chase after them. Her hand swept fully across as she stood and sent the spike to the end of the hall, her fingers using some energy to reshape the spike into a semi-circle to crash and trap them against the wall.

Yohsei pulled down at his ears distressed with how much destruction she was causing. But even that didn't raise his voice over normal volume for him. "Please, r-remember what All Might-sensei said!"

"Relax, I've got it!"

But the grin on her lips disappeared when her bones shook from the pounding that hit the makeshift cell jailing them. With how hard he was hitting, Nagi bet Kirishima was trying to break through her titanium. It didn't worry her until a pang of pain struck throughout her body at the crack he manage to make. Before she could even think of reinforcing it, Kirishima hit that same spot and broke through her cage, shaking her bones to their core. Damn, her titanium wasn't strong enough against his hardening. Not wanting any further damage from the breaking metal, she released her control of it; a portion of the weight left but the pain on her bones and the strain from controlling it didn't.

She barely got time to pop her wrist and shoulder to release some of that tension when Yohsei called out while pointing at the door. "They're here!"

Reacting to his warning, Nagi swept her arm forward in the door's direction to send the bracelets around her wrist flying. Silver and rose gold twined together into a spear that pierced through the middle of the door and broke it off its hinges to crash into the dark hallway behind it. The dust that spread from the door smashing against the back wall barely had time to settle when tape shot out from the dark. Not something she couldn't avoid. Sidestepping it, though, hadn't been the right choice—must've been what they expected her to do since it stuck instead onto Yohsei's shield. The crystal pulsated at the hit, waves spreading like on disturbed waters, and Yohsei flinched letting a small, nervous squeak out.

The reeling noise brought Nagi's attention back to the open door in time to see Sero's form as it burst from the dark towards the shield, the weapon, and Yohsei. The tape dispenser getting pulled towards her with a smug grin plastered on his face froze her slightly. With quick reflexes being the name of the game, it got her faltering momentarily, but at regaining her composure, Nagi stood on one foot and straightened the other to kick out and backflip. The energy still pent up in her body burst out with her kick upward making the titanium beneath her surge out from the ground to form an arched wall that both cut off Sero's tape and caught him in midair. Acting fast to keep him from counteracting, her arm swiped upwards to the ceiling the moment she landed to send the heavier piece where Sero was stuck on skyward. Careful not squish him between the concrete and titanium plate, her hands moved fast to reform the metal into a tensile net that fell with a heavy _thud_ and loud groan onto the floor.

"Damn!" Kirishima stepped onto the threshold and grinned his boyish smile. "You're good on a pinch."

"Compliments later!" Sero shouted, kicking and punching in a weak attempt to break free from the net.

Kirishima's arms hardened at that and he rushed towards Nagi brandishing them like mallets. Frustration made her click her tongue as she released most of the control on the building and with a flick of her fingers controlled the titanium on her costume. The redhead came fast after her, doggedly slashing away in an attempt to get her. Too slow to dodge, Nagi swept her arms to par his punches with plates of titanium, but the thin plates could only take a couple hits before breaking, rattling her bones and straining her muscles even further. Her bracelets broken and out of her control, it forced her to use what she still had from the building's frame as shields. Those weren't any better though and with every shattered one, Nagi neared her limit faster and faster.

 _I won't last much longer._

"Yohsei!" Her cry mixed with the shattering of yet another plate making her cringe. Through the pieces that fell, Kirishima took another stab and caught her arm, nicking her skin. On pure whim, both her hands arched back and hauled more titanium out of the foundation to push Kirishima back before sparing a wide glance at Yohsei. "Cast Pix's strength on me!"

Silver eyes grew wide not because of her words but because of the continuously trembling building beneath them that only shook more each time Nagi pulled another piece of titanium to protect herself. Frantically, he shook his head and eyed her. "Stop!"

 _What!?_

Too distracted to shield herself, Kirishima's hit this time connected with her shoulder and in her ear, just loud enough for her to hear, a _crack_ rang through before a surge of pain erupted from it. Already at wits' end, Nagi ignored the pain too and pushed him back with another plate before barraging him with titanium orbs made in a haste and propelled with all the force she could muster. Thicker than the plates, Kirishima couldn't break through them as easily and at the speed they traveled he didn't have any other option but to take each successive brunt.

"— _Chitanko"_

"Nagi-san!"

" _Young Chitanko, halt this instant!"_

"Nagi, stop!"

"I've got this! Just cast it—"

Her words lodged in her throat the moment the floor beneath her caved. Unable to react in time, the whole ground they were on collapsed and took them down with it. The fall felt endless and over with quickly at the same time, and Nagi gasped at her back hitting against the debris below. Groans resounded through the air and despite the sudden fall, they all surfaced relatively unharmed from the rubble. Cursing herself under her breath, Nagi counted the heads bobbing in and out of her sight as she lifted herself up. But just as she sighed in preemptive relief, another _crack_ rang through. This one not from behind her eardrums but from beneath her again.

"Nagi!" Her turquoise eyes snapped towards the short bluehead, his eyes sharp and dogged from where he stood beside Sero's net.

All at once, she understood and with Kirishima being the nearest to her, she hobbled to stand and touch the titanium around her before wrapping it around his waist and hurling him towards Yohsei and Sero. Slipping on the rubble and dust beneath her feet, Nagi barely managed to catch herself in time to surrounding herself in titanium, making a makeshift shield for protection. The moment she did, her muscles tore but she bit down onto her lip to ignore that erupting pain. Dark as it was inside it, her only clue that the building collapsed even further was the sinking feeling in her stomach as she fell and the subsequent hits the sphere took on impact. Before it even stopped rolling around, her control reached its limits and the titanium brittled and turned to flakes of silver that fell on her as she landed on her back on a bunch of concrete slabs. With her head somewhat disoriented from the fall, it took her a moment to discern what the voice in her ear was telling her.

" _Students, answer me! Are any of you hurt?"_

Feebly, Nagi lifted one arm but at feeling the pain that ran along it, dropped it and reached her transceiver with the other. Huffing through the dust that she inhaled, she said, "I'm...alright, I guess."

" _Young Chitanko! Good."_ There was a pause on his end before his voice came back to her ear. _"Young Kisaragi and the rest are uninjured as well. Can you stand, young lady?"_

 _I'm not that beaten down._ Though it took her a minute to keep the world from spinning, Nagi managed to stand still for a good minute to search for Yohsei and the others. From way out in the street, Yohsei, Kirishima, and Sero rushed to her while jumping over concrete pieces and jutting metal beams. Kirishima held her by the arm to help steady her while she tried snapping out of her stupor.

"You alright?" Sero asked.

A nod and a muttered 'yeah' let them both release a sigh of relief. Pulling away from Kirishima, he kept close just in case despite her pushing him to give her some space. A beep sounded from the transceiver before All Might's voice came through.

" _Onto the street, you four. We'll meet you there."_

Glad to hear that, Nagi walked out of the rubble and onto the sidewalk where she plopped down to a sit with the others close behind. A pair of footsteps followed and two more sat on either side of her.

Sero groaned as he took off his whole helmet and turned to Nagi with a raised eyebrow and look of disbelief on his face. "You go all out, don't you?"

Grunting as her hands dragged down her face, Nagi slumped forward and hit her forehead on her knees. "I got carried away."

"No kidding," Kirishima said with a chuckle.

"I warned you to stop."

It took so much of her to not snap at Yohsei's muttered words but she did spare a sharp glare over her shoulder at him as he stood some feet away from them. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Though his lip trembled and he tugged at his ears as if wanting to drown her raising voice out, the slight glare of his large, silver eyes gave away his own irritation. And with that little to go on, he went off. "I _told_ you to be careful. All Might-sensei told us that destroying the building wasn't a good thing but that's exactly what you did anyway."

Having enough of him, Nagi sprung to her feet glaring daggers at Yohsei who despite cowering and shrinking back into himself didn't lose his own defiant frown. "The damn building wouldn't have fallen if you had just casted Pix on me!" Her fists tightened by her sides, her nails digging into the palms of her hands and her muscles aching slightly again.

"There wouldn't have been a need if you'd actually thought through what you were going to do!" he shot back, trembling hands clenched at his chest now.

"I did! All _you_ needed to do was help with Pix and stay back!"

"I'm not going to just stand by and do nothing while you fight alone!"

"It's better than you getting in my way!"

"That will be enough from the both of you."

Both froze at hearing All Might's voice, the underlying disappointment in it unmistakable despite its tempered tone. The rest of her classmates accompanied the pro hero and somewhere between their fight, Kirishima and Sero had gone to join them not wanting to butt in on that argument. "Leaving the exercise aside, this is no way for young hero eggs to act or behave."

Though Yohsei managed to calm down, returning to his sheepish self after the reprimand, Nagi's riled up emotions wouldn't die off that easily. "You sure about that?"Though she named no names, her eyes gave much away simply by sparing a glance at the ash blond that stood way behind the crowd.

"Enough, young lady." She wanted to say more. Much more, but after his reminder, Nagi tried reining herself in as best she could. "We will review your exercise at a later time. For now, join the others." Yohsei was quick to oblige and join the rest but as Nagi passed All Might, he laid a firm hand on her shoulder to stop her. Looking up, she caught the pro hero's eye that turned behind her to what remained of the building. "And Young Chitanko, if you would."

Following his line of sight, turquoise eyes widened at the thin titanium spears coming from the rubble and climbing higher and higher with each tiny piece of metal that she unconsciously added to it. Letting her fists go and the biting pain from her nails and muscles alike receding, the titanium shattered into flakes of silver that fell on the floor like tiny pebbles. Nagi rubbed at her aching forearms and continued on her way after All Might patted her shoulder. All that did though was remind her of her injury and about the cracking she'd heard before.

Noticing this, All Might turned to her fully and spoke low enough for her to hear. "Have Recovery Girl see to you afterwards." Nagi shrugged his arm off lightly before bringing her other hand up to her shoulder and giving a soft hum as reply. The pro gently urged her forward to the rest of the class with a hand on her back but only his fingers brushed against her as she took a step away towards the others.

* * *

"Chitanko-chan, are you okay?"

Through a fading grimace and ever-present shoulder pain, Nagi tried to feign a cheap grin as she changed out of her costume. Emphasis on tried—it didn't seem to be good enough to keep Asui from asking nor Uraraka or the others from hinting their concern with sidelong glances.

"Probably some bruising from the bashing Kirishima gave me." The truth, really, if she didn't count what could very well be her shoulder having cracked at the bone from his punch. But that wasn't something they needed to worry about.

"That fight was awesome though," Ashido commented, messily folding her costume's jacket and tossing it in her locker to raise her fists up and micmic punching at the air. "Talk about moves too! How did you even learn to do all that?"

"Gymnastics," she admitted for once, more preoccupied with unlatching her overskirt and take attention away from her arm. "Did some when I was little. Guess they came in handy."

"No wonder! We've so gotta get together so you can teach me that backflip! That'd make for a cool dance move." Ashido sprung over and smacked her back sending a mild pang across my shoulder. A groan escaped her and got Ashido to apologize for having forgotten her shoulder.

Through their conversation, Yaoyorozu let out a long sigh as she set aside her utility belt and books— _are those encyclopedias?—_ before turning to them with a small frown. "Rather impractical, though, if I may say so. Power without proper control can be very dangerous, Chitanko-san."

A part of Nagi wanted to snap back at Yaoyorozu but with how deflated she was after that fiasco of an exercise, there really wasn't any energy left in her to do even that.

 _Besides, she ain't wrong._

But thinking about that now wasn't something she wanted to do. She'd get her reprimand later, so there wasn't a point in bashing herself for it right now. Dressing as quickly as she could, she tied her tie loosely around her neck and bit down onto the collar of her blazer before saying her dismissive 'see you in class' and speeding out of the changing room to the nurse's office.

That particular room hadn't been one she'd been to before but Nagi found it easy enough to find in the end. Giving the door a curt knock, she didn't wait for the okay to enter which garnered her a smack to the ankles by a syringe-shaped cane. Letting out a yelp, she crouched instantly to rub the sore spot where the cane hit before her gaze turned up to Recovery Girl who stood huffing and puffing over her.

"Have some manners, child."

"My bad," Nagi muttered through gritted teeth. The old heroine gave a curt nod, seemingly accepting her apology, and turned to walk towards the bed closest to the door.

"Now close that," she said, her hand grabbing onto the curtain that obstructed the bed from view, "and give the poor boy some privacy to rest."

 _Poor boy?_ Too curious not to oblige, the door closed with a soft _click_ behind her and Nagi walked closer as Recovery Girl pulled the curtain aside to check on a soundly sleeping Midoriya. The bandages wrapped around his arms twisted her stomach. That fight had been brutal to watch and she could imagine how much worse it must've been for him to actually fight it.

"Is he gonna be alright?"

Recovery Girl didn't mind her question, more preoccupied with changing Midoriya's drip. When she saw her using her cane to try and bring down the empty bag on the stand, Nagi rushed over and easily plucked the bag from where it perched to pass it down to her. The old lady, apparently not minding her help, took the empty bag and passed Nagi the new one to replace. Forgetting about her injured arm for a second, she reached out with it only to wince and miss the IV bag and letting it fall with a heavy _splat_ to the ground. Recovery Girl said nothing; she simply stared at her for a moment. One long enough for Nagi to notice. Not wanting to bring any more attention to that, she reached down to pick up the dropped bag and replaced it.

"He will be fine after a couple more sessions with me and some much needed rest." As Recovery Girl changed the IV drip on Midoriya's arm, an ill feeling sunk into her stomach and threatened to make her sick to the point of puking. Since that was not the least bit pleasant to think about, Nagi averted her eyes and stared at Midoriya's face instead, finding the freckles scattered across his bruised face much more interesting. "And you will be too if all you've got is a fractured shoulder."

"Cracked," Nagi corrected, her hand rubbing gentle circles against her aching shoulder.

"They're the same thing, child."

 _Certainly feel different._ A crack was a mild ache compared to a broken one. And she knew plenty about broken limbs. Her thoughts run away from her mind when Recovery Girl patted a small stool next to the chair she sat on. Quietly obliging, Nagi took the seat facing away to make it easier for her to see her left arm. Recovery held it gently in her hands, prodding it and gauging her reaction.

"Certainly fractured."

"Courtesy of a hard ass rock."

"Language." Something told her that if she had had her cane at hand, the crone would've certainly smacked her again. "Mm. Once should be more than enough."

"Once what—ack!" There hadn't been anytime to prepare herself for the smooching lips that plastered themselves on her cheek. The kiss was brief and when her lips went back to her, Nagi dragged her hand across the spot a bit disgruntled. That wasn't enough to distract her from the sudden exhaustion that hit her at the drop of a hat though. Almost like someone had gone and deflated her, taking with them all her energy and leaving her so sleepy. Fortunately, that's all she felt now. No more pain, nor aching muscles either.

"How does it feel?"

She rotated what used to be her injured shoulder a few times and found it free of pain too. "Better. Really tired though."

"That's just my Quirk using up your stamina to speed up your natural healing. Though your skeleton requires more than most."

Though the comment bothered Nagi and hinted her as to what exactly the old lady knew, asking just seemed to be too much of a hassle right now. It shouldn't have taken her so much by surprise that she knew either. Recovery Girl was the nurse after all, and if anybody would be in the know of her condition, it certainly would be her. Said old lady rolled her chair over to one of the drawers in her desk to take out one of the many manila folders in there. She thumbed through it, nodding to herself as she did before lifting her eyes to her.

"But interestingly enough, not as much as it should have." Her slight frown fell, replaced by her brow knitting in concern instead. "My girl, don't try fixing yourself up. It isn't prudent."

That was all she said. All she _needed_ to say. A simple warning but one that got Nagi's head to hang down at being caught red-handed. Her apology came in a soft voice as her thumbs fiddled with one another. "Sorry."

"It's alright. Just keep what I said in mind." Returning the folder to its rightful place, Recovery rolled back to her desk and took out a candy dispenser, one with a Fatgum head right on top, and nudged it Nagi's way. It took a moment and her blinking a couple times before Nagi extended a hand for the old lady to give her a few of the hard candies. "There, you're all set to go. Take care of yourself now."

Nagi played around with the candies, rolling them around in her palm as she stood and gave Recovery Girl a small, lopsided smile. "Will do. And thanks." Recovery acknowledged her with a curt nod and a smile. That done and over with, Nagi left quietly through the door, muttering a quick 'get better' to Midoriya's sleeping form as she went.

Looking out the window showed the glaring sun barely reaching its peak in the sky. Their heroics class lasted later than it should've, she guessed, but even so, there was still some class time left before the day ended. _Not to mention I still have detention._ A migraine threatened to start at the thought of that but she willed it away with a tender massage to the side of her head. Tired of mindlessly rolling the candy around in her hand, Nagi popped the entire handful she got into her mouth and made her way back to class, rolling her newly healed shoulder over and over through the way there.

 _Just a few more hours, Nagi. Just a few more and then you can go home and put this shitty day behind you._

* * *

The minute the last bell rang and they were dismissed, Nagi shot from her desk and hurried to get to her cleaning duties. Though these usually were a two-person job, Aizawa explicitly told her that to add to her detention for the week that she'd be doing them by herself. Fair enough, she said in front of him. _Not,_ was truly what went through her head but she knew better than to backtalk. Not to say that knowing stopped her from doing it sometimes. Nagi would take it, though, seeing as it was a punishment she brought onto herself. Shitty time-consuming tasks and all.

Fortunately, now with fewer hours of work at the diner, time was something she had in spades, though not something she particularly wanted to waste. She was still hungry, damnit! So with food vivid in her mind, Nagi went immediately to work. Cleaning the board came first. Easy enough. Or it should've been anyway but her damn shortness didn't let her get to the top part of the board with the eraser. Jumping worked somewhat but that she was only getting bits and pieces of the writing annoyed her more and more. Just when Nagi couldn't rein back the urge to throw the damn eraser at the board for good measure, a large hand took it from her grasp and effortlessly wiped what remained of the writing away. She met a protruding mouth at turning to the side that stood beside her, smiling.

It opened up and said, "Need some help there?"

Knowing exactly who that was, Nagi bent her neck back to spot Shouji behind her easily reaching over her to reach the board. A lopsided grin came to her lips at seeing him. "Thanks. Really came in 'handy' there." His shoulders jerked at what she assumed to be a scoff at her bad pun. He finished pretty quickly and returned the eraser to her. Liking him a bit more for the help, her arm lifted to get a high five from him. One of Shouji's arms lowered and smacked its respective hand against her open palm letting a somewhat loud noise out.

Just then, his head turned to the side and as she started looking that way, a finger tapped her shoulder. Her eyes came to the large hand and followed it up to find Kouda nervously holding the broom and dustpan in one hand and some rags in the other. Nagi's brow furrowed, not quite understanding why he had them until he passed her the rag. Kouda mimicked wiping the windows with one hand and pointed to her before lifting the broom and dustpan and pointing at himself.

Finally understanding, Nagi shook her head. "You're not on duty though. And 'sides, sensei will kill me if he finds out I'm getting help."

"He's not here, though." Ashido's remark made her turn to her just as the horned, pinkhead took one of the rags and grabbed her wrist. "And if we help you, we can talk about the exercise while doing it!"

"But—"

"Kouda, could you do that, please?" Ashido asked. The gentle giant didn't object; what was more, he smiled and readily got to work. Through Nagi's protests, Ashido dragged her along to the windows where she got started on cleaning the panes herself and wearing a wide grin while doing so. It didn't take long before she started chatting and the enthusiasm radiating from her infected Nagi. For some reason, talking to Ashido was easy, most likely because she didn't have to speak much aside from answering questions or agreeing.

As a few minutes went by, she noted how most of the others stayed behind to talk to each other about their first real heroics class. A few did leave quickly after the dismissal bell rang though including Bakugou who appeared oddly silent ever since their battle training. It piqued her interest to know what could possibly have such a short-tempered guy turn mute out of the blue, but before any of the others could talk to him—and they definitely tried—he up and left. And her nosiness left with him. She had more important things to worry about, after all, like taking out the trash Kouda cleaned up.

Though he wanted to do it, she managed to convince him pretty quickly against it. The bag wasn't even that heavy anyway. Hurrying out the building and to the trash bin outside, Nagi hurled the bag over her shoulder and heard it crash loudly against the other garbage already inside. Pleased with her work she turned to return to class but slowed as her ears caught a familiar voice she couldn't place at first. It wasn't until she got closer to the entrance of the building that she recognized Midoriya despite his voice being somewhat shaky. Beyond the shakiness, though, it held this determination and conviction that amazed her. Boy didn't even talk in class and here he was speaking so clearly.

"I know I've got a ways to go and that's why... I'll make it my own—someday—and overcome you with my power."

Those strange words caught her ear and Nagi peeked over the corner she needed to turn where Midoriya's voice came from. He wasn't alone—she guessed as much from him talking aloud—but she hadn't expected him to be talking to Bakugou of all people after the vicious fight they had during training. But by the way he spoke to him, they seemed close. Her curiosity grew more and more as she unconsciously eavesdropped on the conversation but it hit her suddenly that whatever they'd been talking about was something that rubbed Bakugou the wrong way. A lot actually.

"I...lost to you today! And as if that weren't enough...that icy bastard! No way can I measure up to him! That damn pink shit, twinkle toes, either!" Bakugou switched between quiet mutters and loud curses, emotion bleeding through each word no matter the volume. "Ponytail girl said it all, really. Damnit, damnit!" It astounded Nagi that she was among those named— _apparently I'm 'pink shit, twinkle toes' now—_ but that flew out of her mind at his sudden declaration. "I'm gonna beat you all!"

The intensity of his answer shocked her the most. Just the sheer fierceness in his voice made it tangible just how much it pained him to have lost...and how that much more determined he was to do what he declared to do. A sinking feeling started in her stomach then, twisting her gut, but it got smothered by the loud rush of air that flew past the entrance.

It'd been All Might who dashed straight to Bakugou and stopped him just as he was about to reach the gate out of campus. Feeling like she had overstayed far longer than she even should have in the first place, Nagi took the chance to go back into the building and return to class. The moment she opened the door, a smiling Uraraka and Asui met her and immediately started chatting her up. She welcomed the nonsense for once. It did away with the twisting gut-feeling she'd gotten from overhearing that conversation and one that had been surfacing more often these past few days.

A feeling familiar and strange in equal parts.

* * *

The sun was well into setting when Nagi finally got the okay from Aizawa to go home. Despite the help from the others, there had been tons to do. Fortunately Nagi managed to deal with it in time to catch the late afternoon train back home.

It was there, while mindlessly eyeing her surroundings through the lens of her camera, that she spotted a familiar mess of mossy locks. Seeing Midoriya in the midst of the thin crowd instantly reminded Nagi of the conversation she overheard back at school and brought the gut wrenching feeling back with force. After thinking about it for a minute, she recognized the guilt of eavesdropping, especially on something that'd seemed to be very much a private matter. She supposed that was what urged her in the end to walk over to Midoriya, but as engrossed as he was on his phone, he didn't pay much attention to his surroundings, much less to another passenger walking along. A clearing of her throat got his attention well enough, though, and a pair of just as mossy green eyes stared up startled.

Their color suited him, she thought, a smile coming to her lips before she spoke. "Hey, stranger."

"C-Chitanko-san!?"

Nagi lifted a finger to her lips and softly talked through it, "Keep it down." Midoriya fumbled with his phone before a hand shot up, smacking his mouth shut as his eyes widened and a muffled 'sorry' barely came through. A chuckle escaped Nagi at the odd gesture. Lowering her finger, she pointed at the empty seat beside him. "Mind if I take it?"

Sheepishly, he shook his head and scooted over despite there not being a need to. Nagi plopped down and fidgeted with her camera before turning to Midoriya with it, teasingly clicking her tongue to mimic the shutters. "Pretty late heading home, aren't ya? How're ya feeling?"

With how uncomfortable he seemed about having the camera pointed his way, Nagi let it fall to her chest and smiled. "Just want to make sure you're okay. You were pretty beat up when I saw you at Recovery's office."

"You were there?" he said, finding his voice at last.

She nodded, her thumbs busying themselves with scouring through what little photos she'd taken that day. Her hand mindlessly reached up to her shoulder and rapped at it with her knuckles. "Had to get some treatment myself after Kirishima cracked my shoulder."

"What?"

Chuckling at his outburst, she told him what happened after he lost consciousness and how everybody else's training battles went. Because she actually ended up paying attention, the details were more than enough to give Midoriya a good picture of each. His muttering here and there in between her pauses caught her by surprise as he analyzed the tad bits of information that she gave him. His endless rambling didn't stop even when they exited the train and walked aimlessly out of the station.

"Hey, muttering boy, we're here." Midoriya snapped out of his concentration and looked up in surprise at how long they'd spent talking. Nagi scoffed and pointed at one of the signs outside of the street she took to head back home. "Headed this way. Where're you going?"

"Same way, actually."

"Nice! Let's get going then," she prompted and skipped over to him to push him forward and out of the way of the sea of people constantly exiting the station. Midoriya almost fell from the push but managed to find his footing when she let go and started walking by his side, camera held aloft and clicking away at the scenery they passed. As she looked through her shots, she continued their previous conversation from the train ride which quickly got him back in the mood from before.

It blew her mind just how his mind ran at 100 miles a second, his mouth keeping pace easily in a low mutter at every thought that surged through it. Nagi found herself having to tell him to slow down and remind him that she was listening despite how uninterested she appeared. Anytime she did, Midoriya would give her a nervous chuckle and apologize before continuing at a slower, much clearer pace. There was just so much in his mind about the others. Especially their Quirks.

And it eventually came to her.

"But I'm certain, given the right situation and landscape, that your titanium control would be a great advantage in any fight. Not only are you fully equipped, especially in cities, your control of it could easily be of a calibre used for capture and rescues."

That last part astounded her, her camera going askance and messing her shot as she turned to Midoriya with a knitted brow. "Rescues?"

"Yeah. If you think about it, that you can control and make anything out of the titanium you touch could help in scenarios of collapsed buildings or quick evacuations. What are your limits exactly?"

This question in particular didn't strike well with her. But Midoriya didn't mean anything by it and Nagi knew this. Even so she couldn't get rid of the taste of bile that just rose to her throat. Gulping it and the sick feeling it came with down, Nagi shared a smile before replying.

"Can't carry much. 'Bout three times my weight is my limit."

"Three times?!"

His shock irked her a bit and a small tick came to her jaw. "Firstly, I'm not that heavy. Secondly, titanium isn't as heavy as other things." _And my body's made to resist much of the extra weight._ Her ire ran dry after that as she stared at her feet and the scuffed up blue shoes that skipped the cracks of the sidewalk. "But that limit also depends on how long I've been using it too. My mind and muscles can't really keep up with long term control of large amounts." When he gave her a perplexed look, Nagi opted for the much simpler explanation she liked using. "I picture it in my head like making animal balloons."

"Animal balloons?"

The camera fell onto her chest as she made gestures with her hand, mimicking the act she just named. "My control is me shaping those balloons into different things—it's exactly what I do, really—but if I control too much, I'm at a loss because I either can't focus and my control suffers because I'm trying to make too many things at once or my muscles can't handle the strain and I pop."

"Pop?"

Nagi lifted her arm and bent it in an awkward position while blowing a raspberry for emphasis, at least awkward enough where she could get her point across without it hurting too much. His face drained of color and eyes grew wide at the clear picture she gave him, completely the opposite of the wide shit-eating grin that came to Nagi's lips an instant after.

"But you and broken bones seem to have a very personal relationship," she said, jumping and turning to walk backwards a few feet ahead of him while eyeing his slinged arm. He let out a nervous chuckle which ended up deflating him. Snickering, Nagi spun on her foot to get back to walking beside him. "Can't blame you. With how Bakugou was making you eat dirt, well, desperate times and all that. Though I've gotta say, it looked like he really had it out for you. Any idea why?"

The nervousness in his voice died down a little as he stared down at his own red shoes, a quivering smile on his lips. "Somewhat. Kacchan and I haven't been in the best of terms for...some time now."

"Bad enough to pummel you like he did?" Midoriya's curt nod was enough of an answer. "Mm, that ain't right."

"No but...it's eye-opening." He lifted his uninjured hand to fist it, eyes focused on it as his expression turned serious and determined. " It shows me that I've still got a long way to go ahead of me."

Midoriya's sudden change was surprising and it ended up upturning the ends of hers lips into a small smile. It was more than clear that he knew what he wanted and that it'd take many more repetitions of today to make it come true. But even with that foul prospect, he held steadfast. Nagi didn't particularly dislike that. People like him who knew what they wanted and that would do anything in their power to attain it were the ones she admired greatly, actually. It assured her that anything was possible—no matter the obstacles, no matter the pain.

Even the impossible.

 _I like him._

A blinding sunray caught her eye making her blink the sudden hit away and making the thought disappear. Turning to where it came from, the falling sun met her as it sunk below the waves of Dagobah beach. Turquoise eyes unfocused broadened her field of view to include Midoriya's face as it faced forward while he walked. A much too familiar urge took over as she picked her camera and held it to her face before saying, "Stop."

One word was enough for him to do just that and turn her way utterly perplexed. It showed on his face and Nagi couldn't help thinking it was a rather cute look on him. Before he could say anything or question what she was doing, Nagi's fingers swiftly pressed down and her camera shuttered. There wasn't a need to look at the result either. Surely, it came out perfect.

In the blink of an eye, Midoriya's arms flayed around nervously as he spouted out question after question without really finishing any. His mannerisms amused her all the more and the camera continued to shutter. It wasn't until his arms wrapped around his head covering most of his face that Nagi stopped and mindlessly looked through the batch she took.

"My bad. I have this really bad habit of taking pictures when I shouldn't."

"P-Please warn me first next time."

Her sudden clicking through the pictures stopped and her eyes widened before turning to him. "You're not mad?"

"Mad?" Though his stuttering stopped briefly, his cheeks still held a hue of red as he nervously scratched at one with his finger and looked away, eyes askance. "N-Not really. It surely took me by surprise but I've noticed it's something you do a lot. Even during class." Her eyes widened further at that. Sure, subtly wasn't her forte but Nagi made damn sure to not get caught taking pictures in class with her phone. _Guess someone pays lots of attention to what's around him._ Mossy green eyes turned back to her and smiled shyly. "I kinda get it though. How it's something you just automatically do without thinking—I get that."

Her eyes lowered to her camera, her grip tight on it, before taking a deep breath and going through each individual one and erasing them. When Nagi told him what she'd done, Midoriya frantically questioned her as to why.

"Because," she said simply, tilting her head and giving him a tight lipped smile devoid of her usual over the topness. "I want to ask you properly."

"A-A-Ask me?"

"Yeah." Nagi lifted her camera then and nodded out towards the beach. "Mind if I take a quick picture of you?"

A solid minute of fussing later, Midoriya stood awkwardly before the scenery of the setting sun upon shores. Obviously way out of his comfort zone, Nagi tried leveling with him and talk him through the ropes of a simple picture.

"Relax," she reminded him, the sun lowering further and further down the horizon. "Imagine I'm not even here."

Cheeks flushing such a deep red that even his freckles seemed to disappear in the color, Midoriya muttered back nervously. "T-That's kind of hard when you're right in front of me, C-Chitanko-san."

Nagi gave an understanding hum and thought better of what to say before lifting her head away from the camera. "Alright, how about this? Close your eyes and take a big breath to relax. When I tell you 'now', you just open 'em up and give me your best smile. How's that sound?"

He pursed his lips pensively before nodding and closing his eyes quickly after. Nagi quickly went to work then, focusing the shot as best she could and gauging just when the right time to get the best picture would be. Just as the sun sunk below the horizon and gave a last burst of light, Nagi let the word 'now' escape her lips. Midoriya instantly did as they planned, opening his eyes to focus on the camera and smiling.

A shy, quivering, and slightly slanted smile.

 _Click. Click. Click._

"There…" she said with a sigh and lofty grin on her face. "See? It wasn't that hard."

"Much harder than you think," Midoriya admitted. The laugh that burst from her at his still being sheepish about it bubbled out of somewhere deep in her stomach. Though he seemed disheartened about it, she assured him that it wasn't anything bad before rushing ahead and telling him to hurry as they ran past the beach in the dimming light.

* * *

Mossy and turquoise eyes blinked in sync as both stared up at the familiar apartment structure, the former giving a faint chuckle and the latter grinning widely.

"Which one's yours?" she asked as they walked beyond the gate of the complex.

"Complex two, fourth floor."

"Ah, mine's four." She pointed up to said building and up to the highest floor. "Top floor just below the rooftop."

"Small world, huh?" he joked.

"Very." Adjusting her school and camera bag over her shoulder, she saluted him with two fingers before going off running towards her building. "Well, see you tomorrow!" Midoriya's reply reached her ears just as she rushed in and took the elevator to the top floor of the complex with a grin still on her face.

Nagi had to admit that he wasn't half bad. Pretty good, honestly. And if having the others as around was going to be as pleasant for her as her little chat with Midoriya had been, then befriending others didn't seem as much of a drag as she first thought it'd be. Praying under her breath that it'd be so as to make her life easier, Nagi skipped giddily down the hall to her apartment. All joy left her though when at reaching the door, she found it slightly ajar.

Stopping in her tracks, a myriad of thoughts flooded her mind and kicked it into overdrive. _Bugglers?_ There wasn't much of value to steal except for her laptop. The landlords wouldn't just casually leave the door open either. They would've called her to tell her too. Though many other thoughts rushed through, each worse than the last, Nagi knew that there was only one way to find out. With a flick of a finger she prepared one of her bracelets into liquid that swirled around her wrist at the ready as she slowly made her way to the door. The fingers of her free hand sprawled across the open door and pushed it fully open gently to not make a sound. No lights were on. Strange. Still with her titanium at the ready and racing heart thumping against her eardrums, Nagi strode into the unlit hallway keeping her footsteps as light as possible. Her eyes caught the dim light at the end of the hallway coming from the slits underneath the closed door leading to the rest of the apartment.

Readying herself with a deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed the door forward letting the light from the other side flood the hallway but at seeing what was on the other side, her blood froze.

A body—one of the many she recognized—was on the floor. Desperately gasping for air.

"Yori!"

Their name slipped through her lips in a petrified scream, the only other thing louder being the _thud_ of her bracelet falling to the ground after her control was left forgotten. Running over to their side, Nagi dropped everything and even tossed her camera on top of her bags to hurry to Yori's side. The petite body on her floor breathed heavily, eyes somewhat opened and showing irises that flickered between hues like lights about to go out, the colors changing from gold to green and back again. Dragging them onto her arms, Nagi held them close and tightly.

"...h-hey, Nagi…" they said breathily, speaking through chuckles and pained groans, "...didn't think you'd...get here this fast..."

"You idiot," Nagi cried, holding them closer and laying her chin on top of their head. "You big, stupid idiot—why didn't you tell me?"

"You worry too much…anytime my limit runs out on one."

"For damn good reason!" she cried. Through quiet sobs, Nagi shook her head and held them against her shoulder. "I-It's not the time to be fighting. Not now. H-How much longer do you have with this one?"

"Forty minutes?" Their body suddenly jerked and they yelped, their breathing growing ragged. A shaky grin came to their lips then. "Make that fifteen."

Fifteen minutes? That's how long it took her to get to the station alone. If she hurried—dragging them behind her and all—she'd be able to make it in time. Swallowing back her tears and shoving her keys in her pockets, Nagi hauled Yori to their feet and wrapped one of their arms over her shoulder.

"...you can't make it...not in that time…"

"I'll be damned if I don't try," she hissed through gritted teeth and started the arduous trek. Across the hall and down the elevator to the ground floor was the easier part. It was dragging Yori along in the dark of that which took most out of Nagi. Like they were, Yori could barely keep standing. Walking was out of the question. And dragging so much at a semi-quick pace was hard for her seeing as she was still exhausted from Recovery Girl's healing. All that though got pushed to the back of her mind, the only thing at the forefront was getting Yori to the station or as close as she could to it. Once there, everything else would be the same as always.

Fortunately, no one questioned or bothered to stop them, mostly because they just thought them another drunken pair or mere troublemakers. Nagi thanked god for that small reprieve that made the way to the station much faster than it would've been. Just as she turned a corner and saw the abundance of light spilling from the station through an otherwise dark street, a relieved smile ghosted onto her lips. It left quickly enough, though, when what had been half their weight on her suddenly turned into full dead weight on her shoulders that almost dragged her to the floor.

 _Fifteen minutes._ The limit repeated in Nagi's head reminding her that she wasn't out of the woods yet. She managed to drag the body to the sidewalk near the entrance when they started shuffling again and groaning as they regained conscious. Mentally preparing herself, Nagi muttered assurances under her breath as she carefully sat them down against the wall and crouched down before them.

The petite girl's groans became louder and she blinked a couple of times as her hand reached up to grab at her head. Blinking awake, eyes that had been a striking, molten gold were now entirely a dull green.

Yori was gone.

"...huh?" Green eyes scouted her surroundings and when they landed on her, she immediately cowered back in panic.

Nagi raised her arms in surrender and quickly went to work. "C-Calm down, calm down. Are you alright?"

"W-Who're you?"

"My name's Nagi—I just found you here, knocked out. Are you alright? Does anything hurt? Do you remember what happened to you?"

It helped that she sounded composed and it gave the girl a false sense of composure that was real enough for her shoulders to visibly relax. She shook her head and stared dumbfounded at her lap. "I...I don't. I can't remember. I'm okay, I think."

"That's good," Nagi said softly. Careful not to scare her anymore, she offered her hand which the girl took after a pause and brought her back to her feet. _Now to ease her in and send her home._ "Where were you headed, um…"

While still holding her head, the girl lifted a dull green gaze up towards Nagi. "Keiko." _Right._ "Where are we exactly?" After Nagi took the time to tell her where they were, Keiko's face drained of color. "Really? I'm all the way out here?"

"Far from home?"

Keiko nodded, eyes owlishly wide and mouth gaping. "I can't even remember what...I was even doing here…"

Nagi turned up to the clock displayed beside the station's entrance and pointed it out. "Well, I'm sure that can wait considering how late it is. Most trains will stop soon. You might want to catch the last one that'll take you home before they do." Keiko cursed under her breath and bowed to Nagi, thanking her for helping her out before running off to station. Counting to ten before following behind her, Nagi watched from the entrance to make sure she'd be alright. In the well lit station, she spotted the girl from afar buying a pass to the train that'd take her home before she dashed out of sight, deeper into the building.

With that over, she finally let out the heaviest sigh of her life and leaned against the entrance to compose herself. That'd been way too close for comfort. Her mood dampened by the near heart attack, all that was left for her was to get home and take a long bath to let all the stress from the past fifteen minutes out. But even on her way back, her mind swam in thoughts of what just happened.

 _Soul Transfer is such a pain._

Though Nagi hated being the middleman between Yori and the ones he took over, there wasn't any avoiding it. Yori's Quirk, finicky as it was by nature, didn't allow for much of a choice. Especially with the circumstances they faced. In fact, just by how it was made to work and in spite of the large number Yori could seed themselves in, time was limited. Essentially, planting a piece of themselves into others was enough for Yori to gain control of those people whenever they wanted. But each piece held its own allotted time—a punch card with a limit to them.

" _It's like a spider's web,"_ they had explained to her a long time ago. _"With my soul as the core, I tear out pieces of it and put them in the subconscious of others. I'm a little seed in a vast garden and hard to spot. And when I take control, it's just time lost for them. A daydream more dream than real."_

The most crucial of all was what Yori emphasized immediately after. The time they had on each depended on how many pieces their soul was split into. The more forks they made off of the original, the less time allotted to each piece. And if time ran out on them, then the little piece they left in that subconscious would simply be engulfed by the larger mind and vanish for good. And with each little piece gone, Yori lost a little bit more of themselves.

" _But can't you just...piece yourself back together? Patch them back to your own and not let them disappear?"_

" _I can. But they need to give it back to me."_

" _How?"_

" _They have to touch me for the pieces of my soul to return to me, Nagi—"_

 _And that can't happen if we don't know where your body is._

The bitter reminder of that stung her greatly. Yori, for as much as they meant to her, was the one person she couldn't single-handedly save. Nagi didn't know how many other soul seedlings, as Yori called them, he had scattered across the populace. They refused to tell her, saying that he didn't want to put so much pressure on her. That only served to do exactly that though.

Yori's time was finite and, indirectly, so was hers. They refused to return to their body after they tried finding it that way; all they had seen and heard the one time he tried doing that was a dark room and an incessant beeping. And what caught their attention most was their body restrained against the bed they laid on. Yori refused to return after that.

" _We can find it,"_ they assured her. _"They must know. Those who worked for_ him. _Surely if we follow the breadcrumbs they left behind, we will find it."_

They'd been so sure. And with her own reason to seek those crumbs out, Nagi agreed to accompany them in their search. But three years of searching had yet to bear any fruit. Yes, maybe they had gotten hints after scouring through databases when she learned how to hack but those only led to more hints. It became an endless trail that led nowhere so far.

 _But surely,_ she told herself, _surely this one—this one has to be it. It has to be._

Otherwise, Yori would—

 _Stop it, Nagi._ Thinking about that never ended well. She knew better than to let those thoughts cloud her mind. That mantra repeated in her head and filled in the silence and uneasiness that wanted to crept into her. Eventually, Nagi made it back home and tiredly exited the elevator on the top floor of her complex. Busy with dragging her feet behind her and mind filled with thoughts of who Yori would contact her this time as, she failed to notice the person standing just outside her door.

They were a tall guy, certainly a head taller than her. Hair a dark shade of purple that, had it not been for the cheap, faint glow of her neighbors' light, would've been easily mistaken for black. He didn't seem much older than her, maybe a year or two, but all those miscellaneous thoughts left her mind when they lowered the phone they'd been looking into and turned to face her. Seeing those molten eyes of gold and smug smile almost made her cry.

"Nagi, thank goodness. I tried calling you. I suppose you left without your phone when taking Keiko ba—" All air left them loudly when Nagi threw herself against them, wrapping her arms tightly around Yori. Hiding her face against their chest wasn't enough to hide her crying. Not when her shoulders shook so much from it.

"D-Don't do that again!" she cried, her voice muffled against their clothes. "Don't you e-ever keep me in the dark of what's happening to you, you hear me!?"

Arms came to wrap around her in return and Yori lowered their head on hers. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that, I just thought—" they stopped themselves briefly but instead, as if thinking better of their words, let out a sigh. "Nevermind. I promise I won't, Nagi. You have my word."

Her knuckles turned white from the fistfuls of fabric she held in a tightening grip. Biting down on her lip until she tasted metal, Nagi wiped her teary eyes against Yori's clothes. "You better keep it, damn it."

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _Another long one! Guess I three in a row show a pattern. I had fun and a hard time writing this chapter, especially debating with the training fight and with exactly how much to divulge about Yori's Quirk. But I guess I'll leave the latter as is for now. A lot of things were put in place with this chapter and I'm really excited about things moving forward :D_

 _Let me give thanks to some wonderful people including_ _ **acheneflair**_ _,_ _ **Special Agent Author**_ _,_ _ **Rynxenvy**_ _,_ _ **Sheridan111000**_ _,_ _ **naimam380**_ _, and_ _ **Kanaire**_ _for the follows and favorites! Also, a very huge thank you and lots of hugs to_ _ **Aviantei**_ _and_ _ **naimam380**_ _too for their reviews! You all make me so happy and I love you to the moon and back xD_

 _Well, I'll leave things like that for now. I'm trying a new update schedule by updating as I write (with 3 wips slotted), so it may or may not take some time before the next chapter. I'll try my best to not take too long though :)_

 _Anyway, hope you lovelies enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next one! Have a lovely night/day~_

 _-_ _ **Evie**_


	4. Gallium

**iv.|Gallium**

— _A soft, silvery-blue metal that is not found in nature but must be obtained from smelting instead. It is known to attack other metals by diffusing into the metals' lattice structures making them brittle. Derived from the Latin 'gallia' meaning France after the discoverer's home_ _country._

* * *

Fingers aggressively typed down on keys glowing a neon blue, each keystroke sending a ripple of color through the preset keyboard's hue. It'd been an expensive buy, draining a wholesome chunk of half a year's savings, but Nagi expected as much from buying the newest model. Worth every penny. It didn't need a screen, instead displaying the desktop in any open space, and the hard drive implemented with it seldom gave her any troubles either. And though not tech savvy enough to know how to modify it, learning how to tweak it a bit from the person that taught her coding and hacking did best suit it for her line of work.

But right now, the glowing screen splayed against the far wall of her darkened room only made her eyes itchy. Groaning, Nagi sunk further down against the wall she sat against, hands dragging painstakingly slow down her face. Beside her, Yori's soft snoring could now take over in the absence of her typing as they laid next to her in her bed with Mi-chan curled on top of their chest. She envied how easily they managed to fall asleep. After what happened earlier, Nagi couldn't dream of even catching a wink. Not when every second was precious. Raising her finger to be above the sensor of the keyboard, she swiped left and made the block of code she'd been working on disappear. Hours of working on Yuuei's system had bore nothing but irritated eyes, sleepless hours, and an irritable Nagi. And with it being two in the morning already, she guessed that finally caving in and asking someone better than her for help would be best. Opening the private forum she frequented for such things, Nagi searched for one user in particular. Her fingers double tapped on the icon displaying a heart with a bow wrapped around it to open up their page. Love's Lover was the pen name of her mentor—a cheesy name that belied her true skills. And the green circle around her icon told Nagi that she was still awake probably uploading some video of hers to the web.

" _Hey, teach. Late upload today?"_

Her response was quick. _"Lully, hey! Yeah, have been doing lots of that. It's strange to see you online at this hour? Something got your mind wracked?"_ Pinching her fingers on the screen, Nagi swiped making both it and the coding window appear simultaneously on the screen. Double tapping the code and dragging it onto the text box, she waited for it to upload before hitting send. It took several minutes before Love's Lover responded and when she did, her reply didn't disappoint. _"Holy cow! Where'd you get this from?!"_

" _A rather secure area,"_ Nagi typed. Better not be too detailed. Though Love's Lover also hacked, Nagi didn't know whether it was more of a hobby than anything for her mentor. So to be on the safe side, she never mentioned specifics and worked on a need-to-know basis. _"Got any ideas on how to get around it?"_

Ten minutes went by, then twenty, then half an hour. By the time Nagi was half through watching a compilation video on kittens to bleach her mind off of coding, a notification on their private message board popped on.

" _Well, a couple. If I could get close enough to be in range of the system, I could probably figure my way through it."_

" _Could you teach me?"_

" _It'd probably take me a month or two."_

 _Too long._ Neither of them had that much time to waste. _"What about that other idea?"_

" _Do an internal login and password breach."_

Damn. That's exactly what Nagi feared she'd say. Breaching with someone's information who was already in the system was, in theory, the easiest way to get around these kind of hard-to-break systems. But it was an option that she didn't want to approach in this particular case. Another notification sounded off from the small speakers in her keyboard.

" _I taught you how to do that, no? You having trouble gaining access into someone's drive?"_

" _No, I can."_ It's just that she really, _really_ didn't want to do that for this one. _"Is there really no other way?"_

" _Can't think of any other."_

Her head hung back and hit against the wall behind her, the loud _thud_ disrupting Mi-chan. The jumpy cat scattered from Yori's chest too quickly and they stirred from being mildly woken up. Tossing and turning for a bit, they sunk back to sleep fast enough, this time facing her. A deep, even breathing brought Nagi's gaze down on their face. This one looked like what she'd imagine Yori's older body would look like now after so many years. Carding her fingers slowly through their hair made their face scrunch up lightly and bury it further into her mattress. Even though he seemed to rest so peacefully, she knew better than to think he actually was. Quirk activation even during rest was hard—she'd tried and failed miserably herself many times—and the fact that Yori managed to somehow was admirable. And it was a clear telltale of his dread: they'd rather let the seedling on their remaining hosts die off slowly than return to their own body in that dark, empty room they described. It sunk in her anew just how much they needed her; how badly they relied on her to do something they couldn't possibly do alone. And she knew that she was the same as them.

The two of them only had each other to do what they set themselves out to do. _And I'm not letting anybody else keel over on me. Least of all you._

Opening a different file, Nagi sent it to Love's Lover and after it uploaded, typed, _"Can you spare a few minutes to look over it? Want to make sure it's up to running on an internal drive that's under that code's system."_

" _You got it, Lully."_

* * *

The big yawn Nagi let out popped her jaw and she cringed from the noise echoing in her eardrum. Her hands busy carrying books they'd be needing for homeroom, all she could do to relieve the slight ache of it was move her jaw a bit before laying it on top of the high stack. She didn't even understand how it was humanly possible for her to be standing awake right now. With preparations for the little escapade she'd planned for the day taking the better part of the night before and detention still hanging around her neck like the noose it was, the few hours of sleep she got left to rest weren't enough to recover from a night full of so many damn problems. Surely, no sleep would've been better than being a zombie with only three hours of it. But regretting her poor life choices didn't warrant thinking about at the moment. For now, getting back to her classroom without falling asleep in the middle of the halls and making an idiot out of herself came first. But seeing how irritated her eyes were and how much her head was starting to loll back and forth despite her feet moving forward, that posed more of a challenge than she thought at first.

Boisterous hollers and blinding flashes caught her grossly off guard and made Nagi halt halfway across the courtyard in front of the main gate. There, just outside of it, stood a hoard of cameras and news reporters harassing anybody who crossed into campus. Curiosity brushing away some of her drowsiness, she made her way towards the the wild crowd that shoved puffy microphones into personal bubbles. Nagi stopped a few feet away and noted how they kept their distance, awfully close but never quite crossing an invisible line. A mischievous, lopsided smirk came to at an idea emerging in her head. Eyeing the distance, she measured her steps carefully by putting one blue sneaker-clad foot snugly in front of the other and counting under her breath. Turquoise eyes remained glued on the floor as she counted up to ten and leaving around ten more between the main gate and the reporters that stood outside. A brunette noticed her first and instantly smacked the shoulder of her respective cameraman, taking a daring step forward. That the cameraman stopped her out of the blue perplexed Nagi but that quickly faded to the back of her mind when the reporter started shouting questions at her.

Cheeky grin plastered on her lips, Nagi balanced the books on one arm to cup her ear with her free hand and facetiously turn to them. "I'm so sorry, I can't hear you!" The woman shouted louder, many more joining her when they noticed someone was actually wanting to answer their questions. Their mingled voices raising in volume got her to snicker as she repeated her claim and got them to raise their voices even more.

Her lips pursed fighting hard to hold back the laughter that wanted to burst out of her. But it quickly died when a large hand grabbed the back of her head and pushed it down against the stack of books to push her forward. Stumbling over her feet a little at the sudden shift of weight and glared up at finding her balance only to regret it almost instantly. Aizawa's peeved frown froze her in place for a second before she managed to look away and whistle nonchalantly.

"Shouldn't you be prepping for homeroom?"

"I am!" Nagi held up the huge stack of books for emphasis but nodded off to the reporters still shouting at them to get answers about something she couldn't make out. "What're they doing here?"

Aizawa groaned at the reminder and his shoulders visibly slumped. _And here I thought only I did that to him._ "I told them employing that guy would only bring the vultures here."

"That guy?" she repeated with a tilt of her head.

Aizawa rubbed at his neck, working out the kink surely growing from the media's presence, and let out a hefty sigh. "Head to class and have those ready, Chitanko. I'm not telling you twice."

Blowing a small raspberry at the books in his place, Nagi spun on her heels and headed towards the front entrance once more, leaving Eraserhead to deal with the so-called 'vultures'. It wasn't like Nagi didn't agree. Though she had the fortune to never have had them chasing after her personally, she knew how nasty and manipulative they could be. Twisting far-fetched lies into truths to feed the unsuspecting public to get viewers was the lowest in her opinion. Glorifying tragedies would have to be the thing she hated about them the most though.

' _Cause god knows they had a goddamn field trip four years ago._

"You seem ready to strike whomever approaches you." Snapping out of her rage-fueled train of thought, Nagi feigned astonishment at the insinuation that Tokoyami, who now walked by her side after coming through the gates, dared say aloud.

"I would never," she coyly said.

"I dare to disagree with what I could garner from that expression on your face," he retorted.

Sulking a bit, Nagi trotted after him as both made their way through the doors into the lockers and stood around him as he exchanged his shoes. "What expression?"

Tokoyami, busy with replacing his shoes, replied in short bouts between each shoe. "The one you had a moment ago…it belied your usual railery and dismissiveness."

A slight tinge of actual indignation went through her at how blatantly he said that. Tossing the act out of the window for a second, Nagi leaned her chin against the stacks again and walked alongside her ave-headed classmate, giving him a pointed look and slight childish pout. "How obvious was it?"

"Obvious enough with whatever brought your wrath upon itself clouding your mind." His eyes gazed downward at the stack in her hands, mild interest glinting in them. "Those look heavy."

"They are," she simply said, not caring for once that she wasn't putting up an act. Her chin suddenly lifting widened her eyes and she gave a sidelong glance to the other side of her to meet Dark Shadow who lifted half the stack in his black claws with much ease. Giving it a lopsided grin, she adjusted the remaining books between her arms easily enough with how much lighter they were now. "Thanks, little bird. That's sweet of you," she cooed and reached out to pet Dark Shadow.

"Anytime!" the sentient shade called out boisterously with a thumbs up.

Thanks to Dark Shadow's and Tokoyami's help, bringing the books to their classroom took much less time than she knew it'd have taken her alone. As thanks, she promised to buy them lunch next time. Tokoyami shrugged in cool dismissiveness while Dark Shadow asked for an apple pie before disappearing into him. Finding them a fascinating duo and making a mental note to get them that pie some other time, she hastened her pace and delivered on her task of passing out those books for the rest of her class. Her butt just managed to hit the chair as the second bell rang—the screeching of its metal legs against tiled floor drowned by the door sliding open as Aizawa came in. Saying a much less enthused 'good morning' than the rest, Nagi couldn't help the exhaustion that hit her once she wasn't up and about.

But just as she laid her chin on her hand and leaned it against her desk to get a wink of sleep, Aizawa let the papers in his hand hit the podium a little too loud startling her awake. What brought her attention back to him, though, was what he said after that. "Good work with yesterday's battle training. I've looked over your grades and evaluations."

 _Oh no._ A shudder went down her spine making Nagi shrink back into her chair and hide behind Sero as well as she could manage to avoid Aizawa's trained eye as he started rattling off on a few of them in particular about how they did. Bakugou and Midoriya were the first and, frankly, not unexpected after the little show they put on yesterday. She held her breath to better disappear and tried not to groan as she buried her face further into her folded arms, knowing full well what would come after he was done with them.

"Kisaragi." _Yoh-chan?_ Head popping out from the makeshift haven out of sheer curiosity, Nagi eyed the back of said bluehead as he tensed a bit at being called out.

"Y-Yes!"

"Stop doubting yourself," Aizawa told him straight out. "Your abilities have merit, so have more confidence in yourself. You wouldn't have gotten here under recommendation otherwise."

 _He what!?_ It was hard stopping herself from shouting that out loud right then and there at hearing the news. Yohsei? One of those recommended to Yuuei? How's that even—

 _Calm down_ , she told herself, _is it really that much of a surprise?_

No...not really. Setting aside the fact that Yohsei was a whole year younger than the lot of them, Nagi knew first hand just how stupidly overpowered his Quirk was. That he got in through recommendation shouldn't be a shock. If anything, she should've suspected it from the moment she saw him there with them.

"As for you, Chitanko—" Dread replacing her astonishment in an instant, Nagi buried her face into her arms again like a child, wishing she could be anywhere but there. "Head up and listen before I make you." Groaning, she begrudgingly did as she was told and met Aizawa's angry glare over the heads in front of her. "I hope you heard what I told Midoriya."

"No more breaking limbs?" she said coyly, her voice raising a bit in hopes her charm would save her the scolding.

"I hate repeating myself," he corrected, doing exactly that. The words hit hard, making her cringe. "Your boasting cost you this time. Learn to tone it down."

"But I do kn—" Suddenly, a vibrant crimson glare shot from across the classroom her way, his hair standing on end at being so blatantly interrupted. The whole class froze at the sight and Nagi tried her best to see eye-to-eye with him only to fail miserably, averting her gaze in the end. Backing out while she still could, Nagi sank back into her sit and tried to disappear into the collar of her blazer. "...yessir."

His eyes and hair returned to normal and he heaved a sigh so long, Nagi thought it'd leave him breathless. Sadly, he took another breath, apparently not yet done berating her. "Also, learn how to work with others. No one here needs to be babysat so the sooner you give up that habit, the better." Nagi's brow knitted together at that, utterly dumbfounded by the comment, but before she could ask what he meant by it, he promptly finished the discussion. Guessing she could let it slide for now and figure it out later, Nagi blew a quiet raspberry as Aizawa continued with homeroom.

"Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today you'll pick a class president."

Everybody in class instantly shot up in a clamor of shouts and exclamations at the declaration, each wanting the position more than the last, their uproar deafening. Too tired in both mind and body to muster any initiative for anything else than closing her eyes, Nagi hid behind their enthusiasm and laid her head down on her cool desktop to try and find some rest while they clamored for the position.

"Not of interest to you?"

Behind her, Tokoyami kept his hand aloft along with the others. Though not as candidly as some of them, Nagi could tell he wanted it just as much as the reset simply by the look in his eyes. Turning fully around on her chair, she smiled from ear to ear before resting her chin on his desk instead to better talk to him. "Didn't you hear Aizawa-sensei? I'm not fit to lead."

Funnily enough, Tokoyami countered that. "Not necessarily the first thing one would discern from his words though."

A shrug of her shoulders was all she gave in response. Not like she wanted the position anway. In fact, she agreed 100% with Aizawa's implied opinion of her where that was concerned. She wasn't a leader; she never tried to be. Leading others meant taking on too many responsibilities that she didn't want to deal with. Her plate was plenty full as things were. No need to add more to it than she could chew.

A thunderous holler a few desks away coming from Iida stopped everyone in their tracks as he explained that with the position demanding so much trust from their fellow classmates, that it should be put up for vote. It made sense, if she bothered to think about it, and also the best choice in her opinion simply because there wasn't a doubt in her mind that nobody would vote for her. A quick ballot made and with the results written on the blackboard, a mix of horrified astonishment washed over everybody—winner included.

"I got four votes?!" Midoriya's voice rang through giving away just how much the outcome took him by surprise.

Bakugou being—something Nagi quickly came to brilliantly realize—Bakugou, the ash blond blurted out frustrated out of his wits, "What the…! Who the hell voted for Deku?!"

Seating back right on her desk and with her head laying down on one arm, Nagi raised the other in triumph as, through her mellowed out expression, she let out the snort she tried keeping in. " _Viva la_ Midoriya _resistance_ ," she snickered with a horrid accent, making it loud enough to get Bakugou's and others' attention.

"You damn twinkle toes!" From how his hands twitched and the slight sweet smell that tickled her nose, Nagi sat at the ready to run for her life if she had to from any deadly explosions that could come blasting her way.

Sero raised an eyebrow at what she'd said. "You voted for Midoriya?"

"What can I say?" she said while shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, "I'm a sucker for bunny ears."

"B-Bunny?" Midoriya muttered.

"You know!" Giving him a cheeky grin, she pinched the air atop her head and drew out her hands to make the shape of long ears above her head. "From your hero costume."

His cheeks dusted over as he stuttered something about them not really being ears in an attempt to correct her. All that served in doing was her calling the costume cute and him sinking further into the makeshift fortress of his arms covering his head.

Hanging back on his chair, Sero gave her a pointed look. "That's not even a good reason."

Pressured by Aizawa and with the voting done with, the elected were called to the front. Poised and collected Yaoyorozu, who got vice president by two votes, went up to the front with no hesitation in her step. When a trembling and shy Midoriya didn't dare stand, Nagi reached over and smacked him on the back, snickering and nodding off to where Yaoyorozu now stood in the front.

"Go get 'em." Once both of them were up there and Aizawa busied himself with announcing their new positions, Nagi snuck out her phone and took a few quick shots to remember the mumbling mess up there next to miss poise-and-dignity personified. But as she hurried to put it down before she got caught, the time on her locked screen glared back at her and soured her playful mood instantly.

Lunchtime would come in a few hours. Her hand reached down into the pocket of her blazer at remembering that and touched the tiny usb sitting in it. Fingers played mindlessly with the device that weighed more on her than she dreaded it would. And she knew even that would soon pale in comparison to the gut twisting feeling she'd get once she actually did what she planned out.

And this time she'd have a name for it.

* * *

" _Tonight, we continue to delve into the tragic discovery that took place—"_

"— _the hundreds of missing children cases over the last decade; all found, all—"_

"— _and pro heroes gathered to raid the location identified by—"_

"— _law enforcement described the scene as nothing short of a massacre—"_

"— _no survivors—"_

"— _countless children subjected to—"_

"— _most of the evidence went up in flames in the subsequent—"_

"— _the mastermind: a notorious scholar that participated in Quirk research years past and the one responsible for the invention of a drug thought long eradicated. A man by the name of—"_

 _The television hanging at the corner of the vacant waiting room shut off when nothing but that story kept popping up even after surfing endlessly through every channel imaginable. But it should have been expected. Years of searching and wondering had culminated for many with that raid. And surely, it would continue to be news for weeks to come. But now, a few days after the fact, listening to the media talk on and on about something like this was the last thing she wanted to hear._

 _And what a long last couple of days they'd been. For her, for those involved, and for the children most of all. "No survivors"—though an idea suggested for the good of the children that did in fact make it out alive, she pondered about how long the lie would last. How long until the media—or worse, those involved in the crimes still at large—found out? Dark jade eyes fixated on the white walls across from where she sat as the thought swam in her head, and she scowled at the sickening hue when it wouldn't die out to leave her or her mind in peace. But when staring it down served no purpose other than make her head hurt more than it already did, she closed her eyes and let emotions all too familiar sink in._

 _The sudden touch of cold glass against her cheek jerked her out of her spacing out. Her dark jade gaze spotted the bottle of iced tea first and followed the arm that had offered the beverage back to a pair of familiar ebony eyes looking lazily down at her._

" _Thought you'd need some," Aizawa said, his voice low due to the late hours._

 _Grateful for the offer, she took the bottle in her hands but didn't open it, instead letting the coolness of it settle her nerves. Aizawa didn't bother asking before he took a seat beside her on the area not far from one room in particular. For a little while there was nothing but blissful quiet surrounding them. Times like those where they could peacefully be without having to do much except be in each other's presence were moments she treasured. And ones she missed._

" _Shouldn't you be in there with her?"_

 _His not so subtle prodding, though, wasn't one of those. Nonetheless, she felt compelled to answer. "I should."_

" _What are you doing out here then?"_

 _The question brought a dry chuckle from her throat. "Running away." From her. From ghosts. From everything._

" _That isn't like you, Suzume." His hand reached up to scratch at days old stubble that peppered his jaw as he said those words without a second thought. Eyeing him for moment let her in on the fact that he'd snuck out of his own room though he managed somehow to change out of the gown he'd been wearing for most of his stay. After the injuries he suffered, she thought that maybe he'd be bedridden for a week. But aside from the gauzes covering still healing wounds, he appeared fine as could be. Apparently stubbornness cured every ailment._

 _Well, not all of them._

 _Suzume laid fully against her seat and knocked her head back to stare up at the fluorescent light showering the waiting area. "It hasn't been for awhile, has it?"_

" _Hasn't been ever. Period."_

 _The corner of her lips rose faintly, grateful for his encouragement despite it falling flat on a mind that couldn't process such words like it should. Too many voices already occupied it. Reaching up, her fingers took the dial on the modifier behind her ear and turned it, the clicking quite deafening in the silence they were in. Deep in her eardrum, Suzume heard the faint, high-pitched noise coming from the device settle into her brain after a few seconds. After the clicks ended, so did the voices. And without them, her own thoughts continued unhindered. Deep-seated shame washed over her, though, at thinking that she'd rather have those bickering voices right now since thinking about the news she had to give the little girl on the other side of the room not that far away from them was the last thing she wanted to do._

 _Aizawa laid back with her against his own seat, their shoulders shy of touching. "What happened with the others?"_

" _Most have gone back to their families. Those who needed to were turned over to foster care and placed on temporary homes for the time being, I was told." Lowering her head to the face the door so close to the white wall let her dark jade eyes linger on it as if to attempt one more time to stare the problem away. "I should've sent her with them as well."_

" _Why didn't you?" he asked._

 _Slightly chapped lips turned into a grimace and her fingers wrapped tightly around the glass bottle in her hands, letting the drops of condensation crawl down her fingers. "I couldn't." Her voice turned raspy as her throat constricted, threatening to close all together from the emotions flooding her mind. "I couldn't stand the thought of strangers callously telling her what I can't muster the strength to say myself."_

" _I thought you said she didn't take to anybody."_

" _She didn't at first," Suzume admitted, averting her eyes momentarily before returning them to the door. "None of them did. But the shock is starting to subside somewhat—enough for her to talk to me without looking away or shutting down completely—and if she's told what happened to them carelessly and without her being ready, she could breakdown. Or worse." So much worse. Suzume shook her head not wanting to think about what kinds of consequences could come from not treating the girl's fragile psyche with the discretion it required. "It'll be better if I do it."_

" _You'll bring a heavy burden onto yourself by doing that," Aizawa told her, "You can't be sure that she won't shut down on you like she would with anybody else. The kid could even come to hate you for telling her the truth."_

" _All reflex responses to protect herself from a mental breakdown." Suzume knew all too well how a mind broken and beaten beyond recognition by pain and abuse reacted to negative stimuli. "I'm not saying it won't happen if I'm the one to tell her; I know for a fact it will. But what I can do that others wouldn't is prepare her mind to withstand the brunt of the news better before I break them to her."_

" _You can't stall things out for that long."_

" _I will have to find way to."_

" _She's a kid, Su." His voice turned softer, more tender, and his words and the truth they carried sunk deeper because of it. "She'll be asking to see them sooner or later."_

 _Suddenly her mind broke out of its induced stupor, his words agitating her mind. Knuckled turned a ghastly white, her grip tightening around the glass bottle, as the voices returned with a vengeance. All of them mixed into a mad cacophony that she couldn't make out but could feel their urging for her to do something—to help the little girl on the other side of that door. And from the noise, one voice in particular spoke loudest and clearest, whispering to her what she already knew._

' _You can't.'_

" _She already has."_

By the time lunch came around, Nagi, after having promised Ashido, Hagakure, and Asui she'd eat with them this time for sure, told them she needed to do something real quick and that she'd find them afterwards. Though Ashido pouted and Hagakure's sleeves came close to her hips in mild protest, Asui calmed them down before turning to Nagi with a nod and a smile.

"We'll save you a seat, ribbit."

"You better show up this time!" Ashido added, her cheeks puffing a bit.

Hagakure jumped onto Ashido's back, soft pink curls pressing down under invisible weight. "Better hurry or they'll be outta yakisoba pan."

Chuckling at their assuring words with a healthy side of teasing, she felt her heart warm a little at how easily they treated her like just another friend. It felt nice...though unwarranted. With a grin, she shook the unnecessary thought out of her mind and headed straight to the staff room, taking a deep breath before sliding the door open. Not so surprisingly, it was generally empty. Most of the teachers were already gone for lunch themselves with only a few staying behind seemingly to do paperwork or take care of others matters. Some of them like Midnight and Present Mic were having their food at their desks and chattering away mindlessly. Thankfully, Aizawa wasn't among those still there. And neither was Suzume.

Approaching the two pro heroes, Nagi waved at them with a smile as she leisurely stepped up to them. Mic, being the one facing her way, spotted her first and flashily shot at her with a finger gun. His change of subject brought Midnight to spin on her chair, a smile coming to her lips at seeing Nagi there.

"Hey, little listener. What brings you to the station?"

"Well," Nagi said, scratching at her cheek a little. "Is Ch—I mean, is Shishio-sensei or Aizawa-sensei here?"

"Bluebird?" Midnight repeated. The R-rated hero tapped her lip with a manicured finger in thought before tilting sideways to Present Mic. "I don't remember seeing her."

"I think Blue left for the day!" Mic added, his volume raising a little over what a simple conversation demanded. "Said something about personal business but didn't say where to." Pointing out the window towards the entrance with his thumbs and a cheeky grin, he snickered. "As for Eraser, he's dealing with the mass media."

"Shouldn't you go help him with that?" Midnight retorted with a scoff and shake of her head making Mic shrug his shoulders.

 _Double jackpot._ "Oh, well, that's too bad. Guess I'll just wait till after school then."

"We could give them a message if you want," Midnight offered but Nagi quickly declined with a smile. That done with, Nagi left the staff room and stood outside the closed door for a moment, thinking her situation over for good measure. That both Suzume and Aizawa weren't there was good news. It'd make doing what she needed to much easier. Despite knowing this, though, she could feel the her gut twisting in the growing pains of guilt.

 _Better hurry before my conscious catches up._

Sprinting through the vast, empty halls got her to Suzume's office on the third flood fast enough. The thought of catching unnecessary attention crossed her mind vaguely but the faster she got this over with, the faster she'd be able to forget about it. Or at the very least put it way on the back of her mind so it wouldn't bother her as much. Quieting her footsteps to a soft patter at reaching the door, Nagi pried it open carefully and slid it across just enough for her to get through before closing it behind her with a low _click_ of the door's lock. Thank goodness Suzume kept her office open for anybody who wanted to come in. Her being the school counselor had its perks. Eyeing the empty room for a second and letting the familiar scent of lavender sink in, her eyes flew past the China cabinet, couches and coffee table, and tall bookshelves until she spotted the desktop computer against one of the corners of her office. Trotting to it, she yanked the chair out to take a seat while rifling through her blazer's pocket and taking out the mini usb in it.

While waiting for it to turn on, she bend over to find the hard drive underneath the desk where the screen and keyboard were on and quickly spotted the usb port she needed. Just as her fingers ghosted over it, though, her conscious caught up. It stopped her dead in her tracks leaving the usb between her fingertips just over the port's entrance. Indecision turned and turned the device in her hand and slowed down her heart to a crawl to let her think about what she was about to do. To _who_ she was about to do it to.

It hurt to doubt Suzume. No matter how Nagi tried twisting her motives, it pained her to suspect and judge her in a way it hadn't when doing the same to others. The last three years of exposing, exploiting, and destroying others' lives had long desensitized her to the consequences of her actions. They brought it upon themselves; they deserved it. Suzume though? The woman had been nothing short of heaven sent to them all. Especially to her, even after all the trouble she caused her.

Just as she was about to pull away, promising fervently in her head to find another way, Yori's words came to mind and stopped her once more. Words from months gone now that they said after the two had run their leads dry and had done what they could only to come out of the endeavor empty-handed.

 _"We can't afford not to look into everybody that was involved. Even them. Shishio worked with the lot of you after the raid. For all we know—no, there isn't anyway to be sure of anything with a Quirk like hers."_

Nagi understood what Yori meant and how that suspicion arose. She knew all too well, and still...

 _Yori's dying._ The sheer reminder of that started up her heart into a near deadly pace.

Too many already died because of what happened. And she'd be damned if Yori or anybody else would be added to that list without her doing everything in her power to stop it. Dogged on her decision, she plugged the usb into the port without a second thought. Immediately and without her having to do anything, the only program inside it ran silently in the background, taking only a few seconds to load.

It was over before she could question herself again. The same couldn't be said about how twisted her gut felt, guilt starting to grow deep in her chest and making it a little harder to breathe. A soft apology left her lips as she exhaled and let the feeling settle. If she was going to have it, might as well let it sink in to better handle it later. Reaching her hand down, her fingers touched the usb and were about to pull it out when a blaring alarm rang through, shooting her out of her seat and letting the chair roll away from her. Nagi instantly covered her ears to keep the cacophonous noise from beating on her eardrums too hard. But even the numbing pain of blaring noise didn't distract her from the panic that snuck its way into her already reeling mind.

Had they caught her? Did Yuuei's system recognize the foreign entry this fast? Before she let her anxiety take over, she turned to spare a glance at the computer screen and breathed a small sigh at seeing nothing out of the ordinary displayed.

She hadn't set it off. Brow furrowing at what that meant, though, only doubled her panic.

 _If I didn't, what did?_

Now wasn't exactly the time for whatsits and whosits though. Not when a mechanical voice flooded through the speakers out of the blue. "Security level three has been breached. All students. Please evacuate in an orderly fashion."

Evacuate? Didn't need to tell her twice. Swiping the usb out of the port and leaving the office in a hurry led her into a small hoard of students running for the hills towards the stairs to exit the floor. Just nearing the staircase entrance spelled bad news, though, with everyone pushing and shoving each other out of the way. Terror permeated the air. It was tangible, almost bitter to her mouth, and Nagi knew that they wouldn't be able to exit at this rate.

If only they'd calm down. Inhaling as deeply as she could, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "You guys! Calm down, you're blocking the way for everybody!" No one cared what she said. Some even pushed harder out of the way tripping her, but before she met the floor, a strong grip caught her by her forearm and brought her back out from the overbearing crowd to let her get back on her feet. The mumble of 'thanks' died in her throat the moment she turned to the one who'd helped her, though, and a scream lodged there instead at seeing half of an upper body protruding from the wall near her. Blue eyes stared down at her in slight concern as the cowlicked blond released her and walked out of the wall...holding onto his pants and belt buckle. The shriek she let out was muffled a little against her hands as Nagi covered her face, caring more about blocking the sight of whatever was happening in front of her than the alarm.

"Sorry about that," he perked, a little more cheerfully than he oughta be considering the alarm still blasting at full volume. Fixing his attire, he lifted his blue gaze to her. "You alright there?"

"Y-Yeah." While stuttering, Nagi peaked through her fingers to make sure there wasn't any sign of indecency before letting out a hitched breath from the heart attack of almost seeing something she definitely didn't want to see. But that she had to shout her answer again when he motioned at his ear reminded her about the hollering mass of students still fighting to find a way down the stairs. "They're seriously going to hurt someone if they can't calm down."

"Too panicky though," he said as he stood a good half foot over her with his arms crossed before his broad chest and lips pursed pensively into a taut line. "Doubt they'll listen."

"Mirio!" The blond turned at his name being bellowed and Nagi followed his line of sight to see another student running towards them, this one with dark blue hair and pointy ears that Nagi thought oddly adorable. The horror on his face dispelled that idea quickly enough though.

"Ah, Tamaki."

"Mirio," he repeated, his head whipping back and forth between him and where he just came from. "P-P-Press—it's the press. They broke through."

"The press?" Nagi repeated in disbelief. Hearing her finally brought the dark blue head's attention to her and immediately cowered some more. She ignored his fidgety demeanor and clicked her tongue at the idiotic mess the media were making out of them. They were supposed to be wannabe heroes, for crying out loud! But she'd deride their dignity later. Right now, calming them down before they killed someone underneath their stampeding took priority. "If we could reach the bottom and get their attention from there," she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, the cowlicked blond let out a mighty holler to be overheard over the shouts making Nagi jump in her skin. "Good idea!" His flashy demeanor deflated when he eyed the crowd still blocking their way though, and he grabbed his chin between his fingers deep in thought once more. "But that'll be hard with everybody in the way."

His friend was about to say something when Nagi lost the last bit of patience she had. Tired of waiting around while they talked so nonchalantly despite the emergency clearly in front of them, she waved her fingers and liquefied her bracelets. Reaching down and lifting each leg at a time let her weave it against the soles of her blue shoes. The titanium latched around them and sharpened in a short, thin blade turning her shoes into makeshift skates. She eyed the spiraling railings of the staircase for a moment and inhaled before diving into the crowd to leap onto the metal rails. Metal screeched against metal when the small blades hit the railing. Nagi struggled to keep her balance as she slid down the railing, the grating noise filling the narrow stairway and getting the attention of the kids nearest to her. At the bend, Nagi crouched and jumped with a spin to land on the railing below and slide down further while garnering everybody's eye as she went. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs most of the clamor had quieted significantly, shock and panic from the noise from her skates taking over their minds much more now. Nagi jumped off at the ends of the railings, stumbling a little as she tried getting back her footing while still on skates on sleek floors.

Knowing she'd only have their attention for a short time, Nagi pivoted while taking a deep breath, determined this time to be heard.

" **There's no reason to panic! It was the media that fell through! So relax before you stomp on someone's head!"**

The boisterous sound of her yell echoed through the narrow staircase, and it seemed her words were what stopped the few still scrambling around in their tracks. Students spread her words to those who hadn't heard her over the chaos and soon enough a murmur fell over them all. Only when it had did Nagi notice that silence spreading around them. The alarm turned off.

"Now, please," she said, her voice normal volume again, "Calmly move out of the way."

Funnily enough, they listened. Though they were still somewhat shaken by the whole ordeal, they took their time filing out of narrow staircase to hurry down the hall in a much more orderly fashion. Nagi's shoulders slumped at finally being on the ground floor without so much of a crowd in her way.

"Good job there!" Hearing the cowlicked blond's voice from the crowd, she spotted him and the dark blue head among the many others making to their way to her. He patted her shoulder firmly making her move side to side with how enthusiastically he did so. "You weren't half bad thinking on your toes like that."

"You scared half of them on your way down though," the gloomy voice from his friend said just above a whisper that she barely heard over the uniform pattering of feet.

"Don't think I've seen you before," the blond said and promptly pointed a thumb at himself. "I'm Togata Mirio and this is—" Togata stopped briefly to motion at his friend who mumbled something under his breath. Something utterly indecipherable that got Nagi to tilt her head perplexed. Togata patted his friend's shoulder in reassurance before turning back to her. "This is Amajiki Tamaki. Are you a first year here?"

"Yeah," she replied, her gaze fleeting between Togata and Amajiki and wondering just how such complete opposites like them could know each other or even be friends. Her mind chastised her at thinking that though since the same could be said about her and Yori. Shaking that ridiculous thought out of the way, she took to both with a tight-lipped smile. "I'm Chitanko Nagi."

"Chitanko-chan is it," Togata asked not being the least bit thrown off by her look of surprise at hearing him. _What's with people just calling me whatever they like?_ He patted her on the shoulder again, this time with a little bit more force than before and sending her a little forward. "Nice to know our little kouhais have a good head on their shoulders. Right, Tamaki?"

"I-I guess so," Amajiki said, rubbing at the back of his neck as he turned back and forth between the thinning crowd and them. "Mirio, we should head back. The cafeteria will get full again."

"You're right!" Togata turned to Nagi once more while pointing the way Amajiki was already walking towards. "You should head back. Certainly this whole thing got ya hungry, right?" He enthusiastically waved at her for a few moments as they left before turning to Amajiki and mindlessly chattering as they faded into the back of the crowd. The slight tilt of her head didn't leave her even after they disappeared around a corner, thinking how strange the pair of them were.

And here she thought no one could possible beat her overzealousness.

* * *

"Hey, Osoku-chan. Good to see you survived the stampede."

That nickname again. Sparing a glance over her shoulder, Nagi spotted Kirishima with Kaminari just a few steps behind her on their way back to the cafeteria. She didn't bother correcting him, but did elbow him just hard enough when he took to walking on one side of her while Kirishima took the other, snickering at how Kaminari rubbed at his sore side.

Crimson eyes peeked down at her as they made their way back. "That was crazy though. Didn't think people would panic that bad."

"Who wouldn't?" Kaminari said with a slight grimace, "I mean, yeah, it didn't turn out to be anything but it's still kinda scary, no? Thinking we're under attack or something like that—" His grimace turned to a frown and he shuddered, his body shaking visibly disturbed. "Don't even want to think about that. Right, Osoku-chan?"

"Chitanko," Nagi corrected, elbowing him again on the same spot just a little harder and getting him to bend over this time. "And yeah, a little."

"Did you see Iida, though?" Kirishima's sudden eagerness and change of subject took her attention from Kaminari to him. He took a step and froze in a very staut and rigid pose with his arms jutting out at sharp angles. Certainly reminded Nagi of their spectacled classmate. "He looked like the exit sign guy!"

"Didn't." Both stared at her with their eyes narrowed and she shrugged. Remembering she had an image to uphold though, she chuckled and gave them a tight lipped smile. "Wasn't near that exit. I got stuck on the fourth floor on the building over."

Kaminari's brow furrowed. "What were you doing there?"

"Needed to ask Aizawa-sensei something but he wasn't there. I was making my way back to the cafeteria when the alarm went off." It was the closest thing to the truth. Of course, some details excluded.

Growling came from out of the blue and both boys turned to Nagi who averted her gaze and held onto her stomach. Kirishima grinned at how familiar the sight was despite having only experienced it once the other day. "It didn't let ya eat either?"

 _Not even the chance to get a meal ready._ "I _was_ making my way back," she reminded him as she rubbed circles on her pained stomach. "Hopefully Ashido and the others are waiting for me still."

"Oh, I think I saw them there." Kaminari raised his arms behind his hand and leaned it back, pursing his lips while thinking before a wide grin spread on his face. "Maybe the school'll give us an extra hour to eat!"

Kirishima went ahead a few steps as they reached the cafeteria and opened the door for Kaminari and her to go through before catching up to them. "Doubt it, man," he said with a half smirk. "It was just the media. Nothing much to do with us."

Nagi didn't care much for extra time or the media's barging in. _Just let me eat something today so I don't starve to death._

"Chitanko-chan!" Caught off guard by the sudden call, Nagi didn't have time to prepare herself for the ambush that came at her with full force. Both Ashido and Hagakure tackled her, their arms wrapping around her neck letting both hang from either side of her as their voices flooded her ears. Was she okay? Where had she been all that time? Had it been scary for her too? Questions upon questions kept coming and the sheer amount didn't let her think enough to answer any.

"You guys okay?" Kirishima asked, facing Ashido as she rubbed her cheek against Nagi's before pulling back to look at him.

"Yeah, it was super scary!" Ashido shook the three of them back and forth. If she did it any harder, Nagi knew she'd topple over with their added weight.

"We were worried about Chitanko-chan when she didn't come back though!" The sudden sensation of something soft pushing against her stiffened Nagi a bit. Turning down, she spotted Hagakure's shirt brushing onto her arm and the visual just added to the feeling.

Chuckling it and everything else nonchalantly away despite the slight dusting on her cheeks, Nagi carefully pried their arms off of her so they could give her some space. Before she could say anything, though, Asui finally stepped forward, charcoal eyes showing no sign of obvious distress nor panic unlike the other two. Though just because she couldn't see it didn't mean it wasn't there. The fright had been a little too real for a false alarm after all. Thinking about it now was the last thing they should be doing.

Giving her a meek smile, Nagi lifted her gaze over Asui's head to the window where Lunch Rush was starting up his kitchen anew before looking back down at her. "How about we get something to eat now, Tsuyu-chan?"

Asui nodded reciprocating the gesture and letting out a small 'ribbit.' Hagakure and Ashido pipped in almost immediately, whining about how unfair she was for calling Asui by her nickname and leaving them out to dry. They wouldn't let it drop either. It wasn't annoying though. In fact, that they wanted to be closer to her felt rather, well, nice. Welcoming even.

"Alright, alright." She finally gave in with an airy chuckle as they searched for a table after getting their food. Finding one that was big enough for their group, she took the middle seat with Asui and Hagakure on either side of her; Ashido sat right across from her with Kirishima and Kaminari, who'd decided to join them for lunch this once, flanking her too. "Then what do you want me to call you guys?"

"Great!" Ashido instantly chirped, raising her fork in the air in triumph. "Call me Mina-chan then."

Hagakure playfully bumped shoulders with her before taking a bite of her burger, the food disappearing completely before she said, "Ooh, yes! Toru-chan for me."

"Alright, Mina-chan and Toru-chan it is."

Asui turned and put a finger to her cheek to ask, "Is it alright if we call you Nagi-chan too?"

The question threw her slightly for a loop. Turquoise eyes went wide for a second before they darted to her food unable to think straight for a second. So very few people called her Nagi nowadays. Of those that did, only Yori said it as a friend though with how many times they changed bodies, it was hard to pin any meaning to the way they said it anymore. Asui, Hagakure, and Ashido, on the other hand—they meant nothing with it except to get to know her. And it showed.

 _It's different but...not in a bad way?_

Lifting her head to face them as the ghost of a smile turned fully into a grin, Nagi agreed with a nod, setting a peculiar feeling off throughout her chest. Completely different to how her gut twisted so frequently nowadays; it felt warm and light and comfortable. Lightly grasping at her chest, Nagi felt her chest swell anytime they called her name. More and more.

 _No, not bad at all._

* * *

Barely keeping awake with how much she'd eaten during lunch, Nagi's head rested on her hands as she leaned forward on her desk trying to pay attention. Classes were quick to restart after the police got there and drove the reporters away and that led them to have their two class reps at the forefront with the task of more council members yet to be chosen.

Through nervous mutters, Midoriya addressed the whole class with Yaoyorozu beside him. "But before that…this is important," his teeth gritted as he mustered the strength to say what he wanted to. "I believe...that Iida is better suited to be class president!"

Her attention was rapt on the green mess of curls as he explained why, saying that Iida was good in leading others in a crisis. "I think he's the correct choice for the job." Kaminari and Kirishima seconded the vote talking about what happened at the cafeteria during the chaos. A part of her wished she'd been there to see what they described. Other than that though, she found herself indifferent about the choice. Iida was straight-laced as they came—maybe a little too much for his own good—but she could tell he meant well. And if he and Yaoyorozu took to office…

"I might actually dig this council," she muttered under her breath before sinking back against her chair to leave enough room to look back to Iida. Talking a bit over the chatter of encouragement from the others, Nagi lifted her fist in the arm, "Iida for class pres!" The two from before joined her in the chant and all three fell silent at seeing him raise from his seat.

Standing proud and raising a hand above his head, he proclaimed, "I will accept the job then!" Cheers went around the class with the chant of 'do your best, exit-sign Iida!' joining in as he and Midoriya changed places. Once settled on his chair, Nagi sat right and leaned a bit to the side to be better heard.

"Sad to see you leave office, Mr. Prez-for-a-day."

Midoriya chuckled at her teasing but when he turned to Iida as he and Yaoyorozu began announcing the open positions still available, the broad smile across his face told her just how pleased he was with the results. "I meant what I said about him being better suited."

Amused, Nagi chuckled as she sat back on her chair, leaning forward onto her palm to get back to getting some shut-eye as she muttered, "I'll hold you to those high hopes."

"Chitanko-kun!" Missing her palm entirely out of shock, Nagi's head fell forward a bit painfully at the sudden outburst and she turned upward to meet Iida's stern look as he angled his arms in reproach. "Refrain from sleeping in class!"

Groaning at the reproach, she hid it and a grimace behind a tight-lipped smile and tried again after a fews minutes went by. Didn't work all that well. So after a couple more times of Iida calling her out when she even tried hiding behind Sero to doze off, Nagi couldn't do anything other than stay awake.

 _I take it back. His scrupulous rule is going to be the death of me._

* * *

 _Place stinks._

A foul, almost sour odor clung heavily to the air around him, permeating every exposed part of his skin and invading his nostrils making them burn a little. Not much different could be said about the pigsty the broker took him to. Yori surveyed the deteriorated building as he stood outside it in the middle of the day. Paint peeled from spots after too much sun exposure, some windows on the second floor boarded up with windows either missing or broken, and a sign precariously hung on one-sided hinges barely attached to the brick wall. Though he seldom visited these parts of town, he knew enough about the news surrounding dubious organizations to recognize most if he saw them. This place didn't seem familiar at all, not even the slightest bit.

Which meant one of two things; either they were new in the business or they were damn good at hiding.

"Boy." Golden eyes veered from the decrepit edifice to the old man that had been guiding him there now standing just outside the mouth of the alleyway. "Over here."

Yori knew him as Giran, a broker for any equipment one could possibly imagine; all illegal, of course. Giran, however, knew him as Inryoku Yugami, a young sixteen year old boy who despised the world of heroes with every fiber of his being, and who showed interest in the little brigade Giran told him about. Acquaintance of some months now, Giran, by the looks of it, had seen potential and merit in him joining their group. Said that he would like their leader, someone very like minded to him. Yori doubted that. The displeasement he shared with Giran might have been real, but it wasn't just for heroes. Heroes and the society that blindly accepted them disgusted him. It was a sham; nothing but a facade they upheld to trick citizens into believing they were safe and no wrong could touch them. That couldn't be furthest from the truth.

The stairs he climbed down after Giran were chipped with some steps missing actual chunks of concrete but the broker trapiesed his way through not missing a single step. Must be quite acquainted with them. At the bottom, he knocked on a door with a tiny window with a pane of glass this time but barred with iron bars. Silence followed his knocking until a voice Yori couldn't make out spoke through. All Giran said was 'it's me' before a click resounded through the narrow alleyway and he let himself in while motioning Yori to follow behind him.

God, inside was no better than out. He dared say it was worse. A rickety bar welcomed him once inside. Torn and worn-out red, leather booths sat to the right of the small space along with tables barely holding together despite been seemingly cleaned recently. To his immediate left was the actual bar with tall shelves stacked with liquor bottles neatly poised. Behind the old but well kept wooden countertop was the first man that caught his attention, the bartender. He dressed the part at least, apart from his head and hands which were engulfed in a dark purplish mist, piercing yellow eyes looking through its wispy head.

The other that sat on the other side of the bar was a little harder to describe, mostly because he wasn't facing Yori's way. The man, certainly some years older than Inryoku, didn't bother with facing their way even after Giran closed the door behind them. Transfixed as the light blue-haired man was with the console in his hands, there didn't seem much that could take his attention. An eerie silence filled the room as Giran and the bartender waited patiently for the man to finish his game. Irritable as he already was for having to use Inryoku's seedling time for this particular meeting, Yori stepped forward and stomped his booted foot loudly against the creaky wooden floorboards beneath.

The noise seemed to catch the blue head's attention enough to spare a glance but at doing so the chime of 'game over' came from the console. The man clicked his tongue and let the console fall with a _clunk_ onto the countertop before spinning on his stool.

At that moment, Yori almost wished he hadn't turned around at all. Dressed in nothing but black, the only color that contrasted his attire was his sickly pale skin and, what caught Yori's eye most, was the hand attached to his face practically obscuring it from view. A lanky gray hand reached up to the blue head's neck and started scratching at his skin. Flakes fell onto his dark shirt making them visible despite being so small.

"What's this?" he asked finally, a hoarse and irritated voice coming from beneath the hand's wrist.

"This young man is Inryoku Yugami. A young sport who, I believe, shares some of your views," Giran said. "I know you said you had enough recruits for what you want to do but I thought you'd like this one. He may not have a record but I think you'll like his qualifications regardless."

This time the bartender turned to face Yori and motioned a hand at him. "You seem like a respectable, young man. What exactly brings you here?"

"Unbalanced scales." When the bartender asked what he meant, Yori let his frustration out along with a hefty exhale. "Short story? Heroes aren't all their pumped up to be. Hiding behind the limelight and love of the oblivious idiots that we share a world with isn't even the least of it. It's what they do and allow to be done in the shadows and away from the spotlight that I hate. People I cherished suffered because of their ignorance and neglect. I want to balance the scales out—give them justice by destroying the foundation of a society that let them down."

"Boring." Yori's eyes narrowed at the blue head's dismissal and the bartender turned to him with a somewhat guiding, albeit stern, tone.

"Perhaps we can dismiss his motives and welcome such young prospect, Shigaraki Tomura. The results we seek are the same, after all."

"Doesn't matter," Shigaraki drawled, reaching over to pick his console up. "He looks boring and weak. I don't want weak members in my party."

 _Weak?_ Oh, he knew Inryoku was the right choice for this meeting. Pulling his hands out of his pockets alerted the bartender and Giran that he meant to do something but before they could stop him, Yori pointed a finger gun near Shigaraki. His thumb fell mimicking the hammer of a real gun as he let out a breathy, "Bang."

Shigaraki didn't even recoil as the console on the countertop started distorting in shape. The screen cracked and the metal bent as the console crumpled up like a mere piece of paper. It folded and folded onto itself until it was nothing but a tiny ball of junk that rolled off the countertop and onto the floor, clunking loudly as it rolled around until it stopped. Yori lowered his hand, the faint tug at the corners of his lips betraying a smirk.

"Call me boring all you want but call me weak again and next time, it'll be your head."

Shigaraki didn't turn nor respond. All he did was scratch at his neck repeatedly as he stood from his stool. Yori could barely hear the quiet mutters under his breath but caught the faint 'how annoying' an instant before it all happened.

It went by so fast that he didn't have time to react.

Shigaraki stepped forward reaching out with his hand, palm wide open and aimed at his face. Molten gold stared in disbelief at the speed but was shook when a small black and purple circle opened in mid air blocking Shigaraki's hand from view. The next thing Yori knew he stumbled back and fell to a seat on the wood floorboards that creaked under his weight. In front of him, Shiragaki stopped in his tracks with his arm cut off as it entered the portal only to reappear through another floating in space.

Groaning Shigaraki took his arm back out as he turned to the bartender. "You better have had a good reason to stop me, Kurogiri."

"I instructed him to."

The deep voice that came through the air sent chills down Yori's spine and instantly set his fight-or-flight instinct into overdrive. Yori knew his memory wasn't the best—his soul was too split with too many pieces already having disappeared—but there were few things that remained too ingrained into the core of his very being to forget. The voice that came from the screen at the back of the room, the words 'Audio Only' dully gleaming in bright purple lettering, was one of them.

All at once his mind receded to an all too familiar scene brought on by that voice. A see-through glass wall that gave way into an arena. Yori watched the others fight from there. _"They are being tested,_ " Grandfather said to him, his overly large hand carding through the hair on the crown of his head as if trying to soothe Yori out of his doubts. The gesture only flourished dread in his mind and pain in his heart. Because he knew that if the others were tested, so was he.

The man behind that voice he met him only once when Grandfather presented him to Yori. But not like one would introduce a relative or friend. No. The way he presented him to the man was akin to how one showed off a precious possession. A belonging to be envied. Yori knew he would never forget the conversation that followed for as long as he lived.

" _I assure you, he will serve you and your protege well."_

The man wore an oxygen mask connected to numerous tubes that fell back out of view behind his chair and through the clear plastic, the fog from his breath almost succeeded in hiding the smile that spread across his face. Almost.

" _I'm sure he will."_

The voices in his mind mingled with the ones presently speaking. Mostly with the man's voice which came from the screen's speakers. "The young man wishes to join and has proved to have a potent power to merit some consideration. Wouldn't you agree, Shigaraki Tomura?"

Shigaraki gave what looked to be a sidelong glance to the screen. "Having those other extra players when we have Nomu is already overkill. There isn't any extra experience to be gained from adding a kid to the heap."

"Then don't," the man's voice said. The way he said it caught Yori's attention; it was like he was letting him have his way at first but as he continued, Yori's view of it changed. The man was coaxing him to the answer he wanted from him. "Leave him on the sidelines for now. Save him for later if you want. But keep him. I'm sure he will serve you well."

Yori's breath hitched and his heart sank to his stomach. Had he noticed? Did he recognize who he was? _No,_ Yori chided at himself for being idiotic enough to believe that. _There aren't any cameras here. Even if there were any, I'm not in my body. He couldn't recognize me even if he remembered me._

Golden eyes turned to Shigaraki suddenly as he leaned one arm against the countertop and slouched over as he scratched at his neck again. Angry red marks were starting to form on his gray skin, the color contrasting starkly as his ire grew. Finally he stopped and waved his hand dismissively at Yori.

"Fine. Deal with this, Kurogiri." That said, he made his way to the back of the bar where a long black curtain hid the rest of the building from sight.

Having him gone and the voice no longer coming from the speakers let his heart return to his chest where it could finally beat normally. Kurogiri motioned for him and Giran to come closer to the bar and they took a seat with Yori taking the one furthest from the screen. He delivered a few drinks, Yori's being sparkling juice, before he took a piece of paper and pen to pass it to Yori, asking him to jot his number down.

He wrote down the one disposable number he used when out doing reconnaissance—not even Nagi had that number—and passed it back. Leaning over a little to be heard better, Yori tilted his head to the side to ask, "So, is your tantrummy leader gonna let me in or what?"

"Shigaraki knows he should always have contingency plans. At the moment, he doesn't believe our current one will fail. But in case it does..." Kurogiri folded the piece of paper before slipping it in the pocket of his vest and giving it a few pats. "Inryoku Yugami was it?"

"Yeah," Yori said after a brief pause. With too many names to recall, he'd grown used to combing through each name in his head until he remembered which body he was in at the moment.

"Then we'll be in touch with you."

"Mm." Resting his chin against his palm, Yori let his finger slide against the rim of the crystalline glass as he pensively stared at the carbonated drink in it. Although it shouldn't, curiosity crawled into his mind at having heard about this 'other plan.' Drinking his glass in one gulp, Yori let the glass fall softly against the countertop before giving a little grin.

"While I'm here, care to share what that plan of yours is?"

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 _Finally finished! Took sometime because I kept rewriting some parts that didn't sound too well to me. Fixed them though :D Also, I know this chapter was kinda slow, it was actually going to end somewhere else but I decided against it seeing as next couple of chapters will be much more action driven and boy, do I love writing that :3_

 _So I won't take much of your guys' time on this a/n. First let me thank and give a shout out to the lovely_ ** _anim-nee-chan_** _over at tumblr for drawing some adorable fanart of Nagi both grown and as a kiddo! They're lovely and I'm just floored she even went the extra mile to draw something like that_ _ヽ_ _ﾉ_

 _Also thank you to **AlicePumjeker** and **Ita-chan18** for the follows and favorites! And to **Rosto'sGirl** , **Rynxenvy** , and **Aviantei** for their lovely reviews! You guys make me the happiest little thing ever! (*)_

 _For now, that's all I've gotta say :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update! Here's to you all having a lovely day/night!_

 ** _Evie_**


	5. Vanadium

**v.| Vanadium**

— _A hard, silvery-grey, and ductile metal, it is rarely found in nature, needing instead to be artificially isolated. Though it is used to_ _produce steel alloys, it also is a catalyst for producing strongly corrosive sulfuric acid. Derived from the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and fertility, Vanadis, attributing for the grand range of colors found in the compound._

* * *

 _Darkened and clouded skies peeked through that night. Heavy rain pelleting against window panes and the low, methodical rumbling of thunder accompanying the heavy pour as feet scurried across wooden floors to a certain room. As her small hands turned the knob and pushed the door open Nagi's large turquoise eyes landed on the small bundle soundly asleep in the crib against the far right wall. Careful to not make much noise now that she knew he was asleep, she tiptoed her way in and closed the door behind her, the creaking of the old wood making her cringe as she dragged her blanket and Mi-chan along the way to the baby's bed. Despite the horrible lightning that cast monster shadows over his crib, her little brother, just a few months shy of a year, slept soundly through the noisy thunder roaring just outside his window. Not even the heavy pellets of rain rapping against the pane made him stir. The more Nagi watched him through the bars, the more she resigned herself to the thought that perhaps she was only one afraid of the storm brewing outside their home. His tiny chest rose and fell in a lulling rhythm, almost in tandem with her own heartbeat as she watched over him. Suddenly, the bellow of thunder making its ways into the room wrung a terrified squeak from Nagi. Fear struck her instantly as she crouched down into a ball to hide away and hug Mi-chan tight for comfort. But as she shook, Nagi remembered why she'd gone into her brother's room._

 _She hated storms. Especially thunder. And if she found them frightening, then he must be petrified of them too. That thought woke her from bed after being unable to find sleep and brought her there. Only to find him soundly asleep._

 _Good, she thought, he'll be okay. But when another thunder rolled around and shook her to her very bones, Nagi shot up and gripped tightly to the bars of the crib. Hearing the soft whimper on the other side brought her attention to her brother who stirred a little at the louder noise coming from outside. Immediately, Nagi tried shushing him with quiet mutters._

" _It's okay, Yuuta." Despite the little shakiness in her voice, Nagi swallowed the lump in her throat to push her assurances through. "I know it's scary, but it won't be for long."_

 _Wanting to make him feel at ease, Nagi stood on her tiptoes over the edge of the crib and reached over, trying to place Mi-chan beside him as gently as she could. Just then another thunder came around, spooking her and causing her to lose her grip on the plush. It fell straight down, plopping silently on Yuuta's side and falling back against his face. His tiny face squirmed in distaste at being disturbed but calmed quickly enough when his hand grasped onto one of the plushed hair strands tightly. Before long, his chest went back to rising and falling serenely. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Nagi watched through the bars before reaching one of her hands through to touch the fist around her All Might plush._

 _She wondered, once he grew older, who his favorite hero would be._

 _Would he like All Might too? Or would he find someone else to admire? The possibilities were endless in her mind. Another shudder came over her as the storm raged on outside his window, making her grasp onto his tiny fist just a bit tighter. But even through her fright and sniveling, Nagi managed to smile at the sleeping Yuuta._

" _It'll be okay." She muttered just underneath her breath and just loud enough to hear her own assurances. For his sake. And for hers. Nagi knew that Yuuta, as asleep as he was, wouldn't be bothered much by the noise coming from outside. But if he woke up, he would be. Just like she was right now. Swallowing that fear again as she scooted closer, Nagi kept whispering through a quivering smile._

" _I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Not until it's over and we're not scared anymore." As she gently stroke the tiny fist around her plush, it unraveled and took one of her fingers instead. All at once, her smile broadened, no longer trembling. "So don't worry, Yuuta, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you—_

 _I promise."_

* * *

Nagi was ready to kill them. Very much in the literal sense.

With how Yori clung to her waist, weighing her down as she tried making her way out of her apartment, it certainly made things escalate quite fast to that point. Attempting to pry their hands from around her was utterly useless. Despite possessing another petite girl's body, Yori held onto her like their life depended on it. But Nagi knew better. This was just Yori being a whiny mess; this was them wanting to have things their way.

But, for goodness sake, they weren't a child anymore!

Gritting her teeth while trying to drag around dead weight towards the door was the last straw that broke her. "Fucking. Let. Go!"

"But Nagi…" Though muffled through the back of her uniform, Yori's exaggerated wailing came out loud and clear. "I don't want you to leave!"

"I have school, you dimwit!" Suddenly their grip loosened when they tried adjusting it and gave her enough space to pull out. Just as she was about to reach the door though, Yori caught a hold of the hem of her skirt. Screeching at feeling it slip from her waist, Nagi dropped her bag to hold it in place and instantly crouched down to keep it from slipping off. Her sudden drop brought Yori along with her and, with their hands otherwise occupied, they groaned at their face hitting the floor with a _thud_. Just as they raised their head, Nagi swiped at the back of it earning another hurtful groan. "What is the matter with you today? Why are you so whiny?"

"What's so wrong with wanting to spend time with you?" they cried out not letting go of Nagi's skirt while sniffling a little and kicking their legs like the child they were. "I'm leaving in a few days too and you're so callous about it! Can't you ditch school for one day?"

Sparing the idea a second was all it took for Nagi to realize that no, that definitely was not a good idea. It was perhaps the worst idea. Her chagrin lost its edge, though, at the reminder that Yori wouldn't be with her for the next couple of weeks. It wasn't something out of the ordinary for them, really. She'd gone months without them before, seeing as they were best for reconnaissance with their Quirk, but being alone wasn't something she particularly liked. Being alone without someone to talk to let her mind wander. It let her think. And thinking wasn't something she liked doing. Especially when those times were the ones when her consciousness decided to beat her up for her life choices.

The sour mood replaced her annoyance quickly enough and she reached down to pat their head. Surprised by her sudden turn, Yori lifted their head and stared back with wide eyes as Nagi shared with them a tight-lipped smile.

"You'll do good, Yori, and be home before you know it." Her words made a glint of something appear in Yori's golden eyes but they hid it fast, looking down at the ground instead.

"You're not staying...are you?"

"Sorry," she muttered, her hand still on their head. "Eraserhead will have my head if I miss school without a good reason. Blue'll call me out if I miss her session today too. Not to mention that my heroics grades are shit right now." The evaluation of their practical hero basics class from All Might ram pretty hard into her head that she couldn't take things as lightly as she thought she could at first. She might be strong, but even Nagi admitted that she could get easily, and rather stupidly, carried away. Which, if she wanted to get far in that freaking school, was something that needed fixing. And to fix it, she would need to put some practice on not being too hotheaded. Her fingers carded mindlessly through Yori's long hair before she patted his head reassuringly. "But I know you won't be gone for long. You're good at recon."

"I'm gonna miss you, though."

"Not for long. I bet you'll be happy not having me yelling at your for something or another."

"I won't," he muttered before raising his voice, "Can we eat out today?"

Nagi pursed her lips thoughtfully. Though a bit short on money for that, she decided to agree to it all the same. If it'd help him feel better, she supposed putting in few extra hours next week wasn't a big deal. "Sure. We'll pick out something after I come home, alright?"

That their grip faltered for an instant before fully releasing her skirt caught her attention for a brief second but ultimately, his pouting took most of that away. Grown up or not, she guessed they still were Yori. Smoothing out her skirt as she rose, Nagi walked over to the door where Mi-chan waited next to her bags. The cat meowed loudly at her approach and Nagi reached down to pet her as she picked her bag with the other hand.

"Take care of them for me, Mi-chan." Another meow answered her before the cat sauntered off to Yori to paw at their head for attention. Despite knowing she'd regret looking back, Nagi did so anyway. The sight before her caught her unawares with Yori sitting up to cradle Mi-chan in their arms, their face pained and gold eyes etched with forlorn. It twisted her gut to see them with such expression. But before she could let it move her to stay, Nagi shut the door behind her and jogged down the stairs of her complex, not stopping at hoping that the twisted feeling would come undone if she just ran.

* * *

 _It's just them being clingy._

"Chitanko-san."

 _Yori'll be fine. They always are._

"Nagi-chan."

 _And I'll get through these weeks by myself just fine._

"Hello, you there?"

Taking a break from munching down on her yakisoba and letting some of the noodles hang from her mouthful, wide turquoise eyes blinked at the hand Uraraka waved in front of her face. Warm chocolate eyes peeked at her from across the table, brow furrowed as she sat back down on her chair. Beside her, Asu— _Tsuyu, remember?—_ Tsuyu seemed just as worried with her sudden spacing out. A guess, really, since that expression didn't give much to go by. The finger on her chin gave it away though. The three of them, having decided to have lunch together that day, sat far out in the cafeteria, their table just beside the large windowpane overlooking campus. Though sitting with her back against it, Nagi enjoyed the sun warming her back and legs, lessening somewhat the soreness from having ran up the hill to school that morning.

Nagi gave them a half smile before slurping the rest of her noodles slower than usual to give herself time to gather her wandering thoughts. "S-Sorry, just really hungry."

"Did you not have breakfast this morning?" Tsuyu was right on the money making Nagi stiffen in her chair. "That's not good, Nagi-chan. You should take better care of yourself."

Uraraka gave Tsuyu a brief glance turning it to Nagi just as she chuckled the topic away and took another bite of her food. Nagi didn't see anything odd about this until she heard Uraraka's quiet "Nagi-chan." The name came out so out of the blue that it got her choking on her food, her hand beating on her chest to force herself to swallow. Almost instantly, Uraraka took it back, her hands flailing to shoo the word away.

"A-Are you okay?!"

"...yeah…" Gulping down the whole of her cup of water helped her not die thankfully. The little, strange way she'd said her name though wasn't going to leave her head just yet. "D-Did you, um, need something?"

"What?"

"You called me, right?"

"Oh, that! Well, the thing is—" A nervous chuckle escaped her as she scratched at her cheek and averted her gaze. "I heard Mina-chan and Tsuyu-chan call you that too and I kinda wanted to give it a try." Raising an eyebrow, Nagi slurped her food like she hadn't just almost choked on it, one corner of her lips turning up into a grin at how adorable that was. Spying this from one of her fleeting glances, Uraraka's arms flailed more knocking over her food this time. Thankfully, Nagi managed to reach over the table to ground the tray back onto the table while Tsuyu caught the cup of juice with her tongue before it fell on Uraraka's lap. Uraraka profusely apologized as her cheeks turned darker than their usual rosy hue.

"Sorry, if it was a little too personal."

Nagi chuckled under her breath at how shy she was being about this. Unlike Ashido and Hagakure— _Mina and Toru. Gah, why is this so damn hard?—_ or even Tsuyu for that matter, Uraraka seemed much more careful about approaching her. To Nagi, it almost seemed like she didn't want to push too hard. And after how overwhelming Mina's and Toru's advance had been, Nagi admitted that Uraraka's was a much needed take of fresh air. Taking her own glass and reaching over again, she clinked it against Uraraka's catching her attention at the odd gesture.

"Well, if you want to be even, how about I call you Ochako-chan?"

Her big round eyes widened even more as a smile spread from cheek to cheek at her words. Odd how infectious their friendliness was. Mina and Toru were a tad bit forceful, sure, but Nagi could tell they meant well. Tsuyu had a similar approach albeit not as pushy which was welcomed. Uraraka's— _O-cha-ko!—_ was somewhere in the middle and she liked her for it. Friends were a new thing for her to have and, though cutesy names were something she would eventually grasp, it'd be a while for her to ease into the idea of having friends other than...

The thought of Yori dampened her mood, making it take a nose dive to where it'd been a few minutes ago and bringing her gaze back to her phone on the table. She'd texted them on the brief break between homeroom and first but Yori still hadn't responded. It worried her a little, to be honest, as she peeked over at her phone to check again. But as she reached over for her water as well, knocking the little bit of water left on her phone in the process, a sharp curse escaped her full mouth as she hurried to dry it off. Both Ochako and Tsuyu hurriedly passed her some napkins and watched her from across the table as she fumbled with her phone to get it clean and working again.

Clicking the home button and finding it still working garnered a hefty sigh from her, but at seeing no new message, her shoulders slumped down.

"Nagi-chan, it seems that whatever is wrong doesn't have a lot to do with missing breakfast." Tsuyu's straightforwardness jerked her shoulders stiff at being caught. It caught her a little off guard how perceptive she was. Not to mention that she didn't hold back on saying whatever was on her mind. Nagi could appreciate that— _such a kindred spirit—_ but not when it got directed at her though.

Turning her phone in her hand, Nagi tried dismissing the issue away, snickering as she did so. "It's nothing, really. Just thinking too much."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it looks like whatever it is it's bringing you down a bit." Damn, Ochako wasn't too far behind Tsuyu on that department either.

Though she tried dismissing it a third time, the troubled looks they gave her twisted her gut, making eating the delicious yakisoba a little too hard. When she found trouble swallowing the food through the lump stuck in her throat, Nagi let out a long, frustrated sigh as she continued to turn her phone in her hand and looking at it.

"It's...my roommate."

"Roommate?" "You don't live with your parents?"

Wincing a little, Nagi forgot completely about the types of questions that single statement would bring. Thankfully, she managed to talk her way through them, her answers coming in little bits and pieces.

No, she didn't live with her folks. Commuting from home was just too costly and time consuming to bother with. Partly, anyway. But Nagi thought that mentioning the fact that she didn't particularly like the relatives that were her sorry excuses for 'legal guardians' would be too personal to mention. So she left it at that. And yes, she had a roommate. Frankly, it was better than living alone. Not quite for the reasons Ochako put forth though. Sure, a roommate was great for lessening rent and the cost of other things but that was _if_ they were cutting costs. Tragically, Yori wasn't that forthcoming with money. _Damn them and their penny pinching ass._ Fortunately, she still wasn't legally liable for anything and could fend off being fed to the wolves' den that was their socioeconomic world for a few more years. At least now that she was in Yuuei, that sounded a little less scary. _Good thing heroes bring in the good dough._

Her nails tapped the screen, turning the phone on and off expecting a new message that didn't come as she looked between the two of them. Putting this in a much simpler setting was the simplest way to describe it, so Nagi went down that route.

"They're always leaving for weeks at a time for their exchange program. And it's not like I'm worried about them. They're strong and can take care of themselves..." _Except when they don't._ She pursed her lips as the screen turned off and on again. No message.

"By the sound of it, you worry more than you think," Tsuyu said, holding her cup of juice in both hands and tilting her head to the side. Ochako's head almost bounced off her shoulders at her nodding so vigorously in agreement.

A groaned escaped Nagi then as she set her half-eaten food aside and smacked her face on the table instead, the cutlery set around the table clattering on impact. "Alright, maybe I worry a lot but it's with good reason! They don't eat right, they sleep at odd hours—goodness knows, I know about sleeping at odd hours—and they never answer a damn text!"

Ochako gasped, releasing the straw in her juice at doing so at the sudden realization. "So that's why you're staring at your phone."

"They're gone for so long and it's just...so quiet without them at home."

"It sounds like you miss them." Slowly, Nagi lifted her head to meet Tsuyu's dark eyes as they stared down at her after saying such ludicrous thing.

"I don't miss them."

"I'm with Tsuyu-chan on this," Ochako reached out to pat their head chuckling all the while doing so. "But it's alright to miss them! By how you talk about them, you two must be really good friends. It's only natural."

 _Yori's more than that. They're family._ But she still pouted at how right they were and how much she hated having to admit it to herself. "I can't miss them though. If I do, they'll worry about _me_ and come back sooner than they should." She'd gone through that fiasco the first time Yori decided to do recon without her. It took so much to get them back on track after that. No way was she going to risk that happening again. "Besides, there's no point in missing them. I know they'll come back. It's just that…it's a lot of time to myself."

"So you're lonesome?" Tsuyu said, sounding too certain of her answer.

"I…" Warmth crept onto her cheeks and she buried her face back on the table, trying to hide the sudden burst of color on her face. "Mm...maybe."

"Oh!" Ochako's sudden outburst caught Nagi unawares, startling her to sit straight on her chair as it screeched back from her jumping back up. "I know! I know! I know!" The phrase kept repeating as she riffled through her pockets until she fished out her pink flip phone to show to Nagi. "You can talk to us!"

"What?"

"That's a good idea, ribbit." Cheeks rosy as well, Tsuyu looked through her own pockets for her phone as Ochako nodded fervently at her own genius.

"I'm still lost here."

"We'll chat with you!" Uraraka said, pressing a few buttons on her phone before turning it to Nagi. "That way you won't be so lonely while your roommate's away! And well, it'll be great to have a way to talk outside of school, y'know?"

Blinking surprised at the two phones settled on the table before her, Nagi stared them down for a good second before a smiled made its way onto her lips. Taking Ochako's first, she punched in her number and left the name blank doing the same for Tsuyu's before giving them back. The girls had them for a brief moment before Nagi's phone vibrated on the table, moving ever so slightly before she picked up and saw the two new messages from unknown numbers. Tsuyu's a cute sticker of a small frog on a lilypad and Ochako's a curt 'Ochako here! ". Her smile broadened as she added each number with the corresponding names, 'Tsuyu-chan' and 'Ochako-chan.'

As she clicked to save them another window popped up. One she hadn't seen since the last time she added one of Yori's new numbers. And seeing it made her smile a little bigger.

' _Would you like to add the contacts to a group?'_

Thumbing over the button, she added both to one and when asked to label it, her nose scrunched up at how corny the first one that came to mind was. Friends did have a nice ring it though. Showing it to them, Tsuyu and Ochako smiled warmly at the group that had them as the first recipients leading the trio to chat away about idle hobbies and school, and about maybe even looking at a weekend to just go out and have fun. Surprisingly, it lasted the remainder of lunch and Nagi didn't mind it at all.

And after that bell rang, not once did she look at her phone.

* * *

 _Ugh, it had to be rescue training._

Just the idea of their hero basics topic brought a certain bitter taste to Nagi's mouth. Unable to be rid of it no matter how many times she swallowed, she made do with what she had. Well, at least that unnecessary high collar on her costume came in handy. Fixing it surely distracted her plenty on their way to the bus waiting for them. Getting a ride out to the location was alright with her—what with this being a special class out of campus and all— but Nagi had the suspicion that even a simple bus ride would upset her stomach too much as things stood.

 _Ugh, Tsuyu was right. It was way too much hot sauce on the yakisoba._

"Are you feeling well?" Fixing her collar for the fifth time, Nagi turned to catch Yaoyorozu eyeing her as the whole of their class made their way to the bus. Dark ebony eyes gave her a full once over before her brow creased in concern, a hand coming to her cheek. "You seem rather ill."

 _Ill ain't cutting it._ Having her stomach turned inside out with every gastric fluid ravaging the inside of her body felt like a better way to put it. But Nagi, instead of describing what her vivid imagination came up with, only chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of her neck. "M-My stomach's a little upset is all. Must've been what I ate for lunch."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, pretty sure!"

She thought the conversation would've ended there but just as she was turning away, Yaoyorozu stretched out a hand to Nagi, her fist holding something. "Here, have these." Opening her palm to let her drop whatever she was holding into it, Nagi blinked a couple of times at the couple of tiny tablets. Her mouth went agape, wanting to ask what they were, but before she could, Yaoyorozu created a small bottle of water and unscrewed the cap as she spoke. "They're medicine that could help you well enough with your ailment."

"...you didn't have to." But her muttered reply barely left the breath they escaped from, stopped instead by how the corner of her lips turned into a lopsided grin. Nagi popped the two tablets into her mouth and took the small water bottle, gulping down the medicine and water easily enough. Crunching the bottle in her hands, she turned that grin fully to her, "Thanks, Yaoyorozu."

"You're very welcome, Chitanko-san." The meek smile that Yaoyorozu gave her brought a few choice words to Nagi's mind. _How proper._ But it was the skittering glance that she kept getting from their vice pres that piqued her interest and quirked one of her eyebrows.

"Got something on your mind, VP?"

"Actually, yes, though I don't know if it's a suitable time for asking such questions."

"You kidding?" Nagi said. Her feet kicked up a few pebbles as they followed behind their class to the parking lot just outside of campus. "After the lifesaver you gave me with those meds, you've earned a question. Shoot away!"

"Very well." Yaoyorozu gave it a little of thought, her ebony eyes locking with her turquoise when finally settling on her question. "Pardon me if I'm wrong but that name, 'Chitanko,' I have the impression that it sounded familiar to me. Have we perhaps met elsewhere before?"

Searching through the most remote corners of her brain for any sign of Yaoyorozu's face came up empty. And Nagi was certain she would've remembered someone of Yaoyorozu's status if she ever met them. And double checking came up with the same result.

"Don't think so. I think I would've remembered someone like you."

"Yes, I figured as much myself as well." She let out a thoughtful hum as her hand covered the lower half of her mouth. "It still sounds familiar though. I wonder why?"

 _I could spot you a guess._ But Nagi didn't want to relate herself to them anymore than she oughta. Sharing a family name was as much as they'd get out of her. So instead, she shrugged her shoulders and skipped to keep pace with Yaoyorozu's long stride, "Beats me."

Something about how she said that must've clued in Yaoyorozu on her distaste of subject though. Before Nagi could tell, Yaoyorozu maneuvered her way expertly out of the topic and into another, wondering out loud just what kind of rescue training they'd have. Not a much better topic but she'd deal. _The lesser of two evils, I guess…_ Half of Nagi gave her the attention she deserved while the other didn't bother, not wanting to be sick again. Though she didn't know what today was about, it surely had her going for a loop already. One that she didn't like one bit. And Iida's high-pitched whistle as they finally reached the bus didn't make it any better either.

 _Just tough it out. Think about the delicious steaks you'll eat with Yori. Deliciously juicy steaks._

She was seriously starting to regret not taking Yori up on the offer of ditching school. Oh well. Just another poor choice to add to the list. But, if that's how things were going to be for the next couple of hours, Nagi would make damn sure to at least have some fun with it. Following Iida's orders was a pain— _strict prez, through and through_ —but when they realized that the bus wasn't one with those kinds of seats, Nagi stormed through the crowd in a hurry, scurrying through some and playfully shoving others out of her way to get a spot of her liking.

"Mine!"

Her cry rang out as she toppled over to the back of the bus, taking one of the window seats on the right side with a sit just high enough that she could dangle her feet over it and scrape them against the floor. And that wasn't mentioning the view from the back window. A bubbly chuckle came from across the narrow walkway and Nagi spotted Ochako as she slid onto the sit next to Yaoyorozu on the outer side of the seats.

"Nice to see you're feeling better!"

"Yep! And my stomach ache went away too. All thanks to Yaoyorozu!"

One of her arms went out in a flourish, intent on signaling behind Ochako, but instead smacking right against someone's leg. At first an unfocused blur of white, Nagi took back her hand to and glanced up to meet Todoroki's mismatched gaze as he took the seat next to her. Silent as ever, she raised a curious eyebrow at him with him barely sparing her a glance before laying his head back against the headrest to close his eyes. _Rude._ Childishly sticking her tongue out briefly in retort to his quite literal cold shoulder, she stopped and whistled away when Todoroki opened his eyes to look her way. Yaoyorozu shook her head mildly while Ochako tried her best to keep back the laughter that threatened to burst out at witnessing Nagi's antics. It wasn't until the third time that Todoroki finally caught her mid raspberry and looked at her with an impassive expression, eyes a dark gray and seaglass staring her down for a second. No point regretting what had been entertaining for the minute and a half it lasted, Nagi flashed him a toothy grin before whirling her head forward and fishing out her phone. Ochako's gleeful cackle finally erupting at her getting caught made it all the more worth it.

A moment after settling down, though, a flash of ash blond in front of her drew her attention away from her phone's camera. It took her another solid second to recognize it as the back of Bakugou's prickly head. Great. Being boxed between two killjoys was exactly what she wanted out of the trip to this off-campus excursion. Well, Jirou taking the seat beside Bakugou made it a little better. Though she hadn't spoken to her earphone jacked classmate, Nagi liked the brooding goth vibe she gave off. Not off-putting at all. To her, anyway.

Soon enough, the bus got rolling and well on its way. The trip would be short, she guessed, but no way would that stop her from taking some quick snapshots of the scenery running them by. Spring wasn't her favorite season. Not by a long shot. But it had its perks. Making Yuuei and its well taken care of surroundings more of a stunning view was definitely one of them. Sitting under one of her legs to better prop herself, Nagi tapped away at the touchscreen with practiced ease, even taking panoramic shots for a few seconds to get a better use of the moving vehicle.

The lively chatter that breezed through just within earshot reminded Nagi that she wasn't alone though. Her finger stopped in the middle of taking another picture as her mind tried convincing her to leave them be. Taking others' pictures wasn't her thing. _Sceneries are better. They only change with the seasons. It's expected change._ But hearing them talk so leisurely and actually knowing who they were, brought another thought. This one just a tad bit louder than the others.

 _A couple can't possibly hurt._

Pivoting her body towards them as she switched the camera to video, she garnered her classmates through the screen that put them exactly where she liked them to be. Behind a lense and at a safe distance away from her. Panning the shot across the entirety of the bus, Nagi finally finished the tour by sweeping across to her immediate left. Doing so, though, stopped her short at seeing Todoroki through the screen of her phone.

Something clicked in the back of her head at seeing him like this. A small cog, she thought. A particular one inside her mind that hadn't been properly working, somehow jammed and halted, suddenly _clack-clack-clacking_ in place as if trying to move. Nagi hadn't talked or seen much of Todoroki—very much like the other half of those that didn't readily approach her beyond maybe a 'good morning'—but something about the way he looked right now seemed oddly _familiar_ to her. Hair as white as freshly ladened snow and dark clouded eyes the color of skies just before a storm. _Clack, clack, clack_ went the cog, wanting to find a way to turn again but suddenly screeching halt once more after being interrupted by the boisterous exclaim coming from in front of her. Damn, the sheer volume coming off of the human firecracker in front of her threatened to leave her deaf despite the space separating them. Impressive but still, _damn_.

"What'd ya say, frog-face!"

 _Oh, Tsuyu-chan pissed off boomstick._ Damn, she just missed it too by the sound of it. Not wanting to lose out on another second of the fun, Nagi quickly switched back to her camera, tapping away when finding the few angles she could where Bakugou turned just right to catch his enraged face shouting back at them. Finding a good one, she clicked on edit and picked out the sparkliest red glitter pen on the app and drew a couple of frizzled cat whiskers on his face before adding said animal's ears atop the ashen blond locks. Adding a few angry marks around to make it pop out more, she clicked save before sending the her masterpiece to Ochako. Almost instantly, Ochako burst out in her joyful ruckus of a laughter, a little of spit flying out of her mouth as she tried covering it in vain. Snickering at her reaction, Nagi was about to send it to Tsuyu when she spotted Jirou again in the corner of her eye. On a whim, she decided to go for a gamble. Gently she tapped her shoulder and dark violet irises glanced over Jirou's shoulder in response. Leaning out of her seat to better show her, Nagi stretched out her arm to let Jirou in on her work of art. Unexpectedly, Jirou's reaction rivaled that of Ochako's but unlike gravity gal, she managed to somehow cover her mouth before all of it came out.

Just as she was about to pull back, Bakugou's shoulder bumped against her outstretched arm bringing an already irate scowl her way. "Move out the way, damn twinkle—what the fuck is that?!"

Squealing in delight at being caught mid mischief— _'cause, really, what's the damn point if I can't get on at least one of his many short nerves—_ Nagi pulled back to sit down just as Bakugou reached back to snatch her phone away from her hands. Incidentally though, she ended up bumping against Todoroki in the process. Mismatched eyes finally took on something other than their normal stoicism. Though, to be frank, she preferred that over the look of sheer cold aggravation he gave her now. _Whoops._ What little sanity and self-preservation instinct she had warned her to try and not piss off the two heavy-hitters of their class. One, she could deal with. Two might be pushing her luck a bit too much.

"My bad." Her little mutter came through as she calmly took back her seat. Todoroki paid little mind aside from that glance from before and went back to ignoring her. She supposed that was the better choice too.

Luckily for her, Aizawa just then called their shenanigans off and got Bakugou to rein in his lit, short fuse for the time being. As she exited the bus with Yaoyorozu in front of her and Ochako behind her, Nagi let her phone fall into the front pocket of her jacket and zipped it closed, patting it for good measure. Hands came to her shoulders after they had all stepped out of the vehicle and she stiffened a bit at the sudden unexpected touch.

Ochako's voice coming from behind her unwound her a little, though her shoulders never did relax even after she let go and took to walking beside Nagi, fists eagerly shaking just in front of her chest. "This is so exciting! What do you think we'll do, Nagi-chan?"

"Hopefully nothing too outrageous." Though knowing Yuuei, it'd be exactly that and more. An exasperated sigh came out of her at the mere thought of having to do rescues, even simulated ones. She just wasn't cut out to do that and she knew it. This would only prove her own incompetence on the subject. Wanting to change subjects before her stomach turned, Nagi nudged at Ochako's shoulder and motioned with a tilt of her chin to the unruly mess of mossy locks in the distance. Running off to Midoriya with the _clicking_ of Ochako's heels trudging after her, Nagi fell into his pace easy enough. But when he didn't acknowledge her presence right away, even after waving a hand in front of his face for good measure, it peeved her to no end. Ignore her? Yeah, no. Instantly this time, the mumbling mess she knew Midoriya as shone through when he startled out of his pensive trance after the resounding smack she gave to his back.

"C-C-Chitanko-san! Would you please stop doing that everytime?" Nagi let him calm himself down from the fright while waiting for Ochako to catch up to them too before snickering.

"Sure thing!" A cheeky grin spread across her face as she patted his shoulder lightly to not freak him out anymore than he already was. "Once you learn to expect my ambushes that it!"

Giggling on his other side, Ochako gave them a silly smile in response to Midoriya's mildly defeated sigh. All that, though, was forgotten rather fast when the whole class finally entered the edifice that would serve as their training grounds for the day's lesson. Turquoise eyes widened and jaw went slack at the sight of what was inside the place. Having never seen such extravagant sets before, it marveled her to no end that Yuuei had the money to spare for this. Her split attention zeroed in to the end of their long walkway where one person waited for them rather patiently. Most likely that other teacher Aizawa mentioned.

Though a familiar hero, Nagi couldn't quite recall their name. She knew she'd seen them somewhere, maybe TV or some billboard advertisement, but couldn't think of a name for the life of her. _A number maybe?_ Yeah, that rang the tiniest of bells. It wasn't much to go by though.

"The flood zone, landslide zone, conflagration zone, among others." It piqued her interest how their voice sounded slightly robotic and muffled because of their helmet. It kinda sounded adorable because of it. But her mind flooding with numbers trying to remember their name left little room to think about other things. _Ten?_ No, that didn't sound right. Double digits did, though. "Every disaster and accident you can imagine is in this facility as I've built it myself. I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint."

Thankfully, both Midoriya and Ochako had it down pat for her. "It's the space hero, Thirteen!"

Right. Nagi remembered now. Thirteen was the rescue specialist. _Makes sense why I couldn't remember them as well._ It wasn't so much their specialty—just because she dreaded doing rescues, it didn't mean she didn't appreciate those who could actually do the job—as their name. That number—Nagi shifted from one foot to the other, her right leg lifting behind her so she could scratch away the irksome burning sensation that came onto her ankle out of the blue.

"Before we get started, I have one or two points I'd like to iterate." Thirteen lifted a couple of fingers before adding more and more as they went. "Or three. Maybe four. Could be five." Though Nagi knew it'd be wise to pay attention to Thirteen as they described their Quirk, she quite frankly preferred to take in the scenery of the USJ instead. All that disinterest died out fast enough, though, when Thirteen went into a much darker topic that she hadn't quite expected, much less prepared for.

"However, my power could easily kill. And I've no doubt there are some among you with similar abilities."

They meant to say that to the class as a whole. Nagi knew this. The disgust from overthinking it—that distinct feeling of being watched—didn't go away as easily though. It pricked her like a thousand needles and made her suddenly clammy skin crawl from the inside out. But she knew that as unpleasant as the remark was, it held some truth.

 _Especially for us._

Turquoise eyes leveled out to wander across the expanse of the facility, not wanting to meet anybody's eyes right now. Especially not Yohsei's or Aizawa's.

"It may seem that this system is a stable one, but we must never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for people to die."

 _Or a panicked move with one rigged Quirk, for that matter._

It made the same difference to her. Aizawa's fitness test proved to teach her little that she didn't already know. Limits were something Nagi had to always have consciously at the forefront of her mind after all. All Might's training wasn't much different in that regard; though it did show her how precarious she could be when she lost it a little, Nagi had known years beforehand just how dangerous her Quirk could be. To both herself and those around her. Thirteen wasted their time trying to explain something she knew all too well.

"This class will show you a new perspective!" The joviality of their words brought Nagi back, blinking out of her stupor to pay a little more attention to the space hero at the change of mood. "You will learn how to utilize your Quirks to save lives."

Though she clearly heard their voice, an uneasy feeling assaulted her senses. Barely just a brush of something pricking at the back of her mind, nagging to be recalled. A memory that she didn't particularly like but that Thirteen's words brought so vividly to the forefront of her mind.

" _You must do better, my child. The others will not hesitate, you mustn't either."_

"Your powers are not meant to inflict harm."

Her hands that rested by her side twitched at their words, the sudden jerk making her curl them into fists and bite down the snarl that threatened to form on her lips. The prickling sensation worming its way steadily down her neck, sending chills down her spine.

" _Rid your mind of all that unnecessary restraint and doubt. Think of them as nothing but obstacles in your way, and obstacles can be so easily skewered in your hands."_

"I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to _help_ people."

" _And if you refuse to, well...it will be a true shame to dispose of you now after all the stellar progress you've made."_

Fingers cold as ice scraped against the back of her neck, the touch light as a feather weighing down on her airway and constricting it. The ghost sensation that brushed her wrung a small gasp from her lips as her hand reached back, tentatively touching her skin to find nothing latched onto it.

No cold hand. No cold piece of metal that pierced her skin through. Nothing.

Nagi jumped in her skin at the clapping that came from Iida and the cheers from the rest of her classmates. Blinking away the sudden flashes that passed through her mind, she scratched at the back of her neck wanting the phantom touch gone even if that meant replacing it with the light sting of rawer scratches. _I'm thinking too much again_. Her imagination must have gone a little haywire with how stressed out she'd been all day. Quite likely if she thought about it.

 _Forget about it, Nagi. Just don't think about it. Don't think._

Quite literally shaking off what had gone through her, Nagi didn't care for the odd looks directed her way as she shook her arms and legs out like a mangy mutt just out of a long bath. Even Ochako's and Midoriya's puzzled expressions were ignored when she slapped her own cheeks a couple of times to focus back on the task at hand. Thinking too much never ended good for her. Focusing on the now helped chase those ghosts away though. _Focus,_ she repeated to herself, _shitty rescues. You hate those remember?_ Yeah, annoyance helped.

"Alright, then first off..." Quieting for an instant, Nagi watched Aizawa turn away for a mere second towards the fountain plaza at the center of the USJ. Curious, her eyes followed his line of sight and spotted the dark, swirling _something_ at the base of the fountain letting in what looked to be... _people?_

The warning that he bellowed out of the blue shook everybody and brought their collective attention back to him. Even hers with how commanding his tone had been and that said something. "Gather together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students."

 _Protect?_ From what?

"What the heck's that?" Though he seemed somewhat cautious about his question, Kirishima raised his hand over his eyes to better see further out towards the plaza. "Is it like the entrance exam with more battle robots?"

" **Don't move!"** Her breath hitched at the harsh words. What riled her nerves most was Aizawa taking his signature yellow goggles in hand to place them over his eyes, completely obscuring them. "Those are villains."

There wasn't any helping the commotion that the mere statement brought across them all. Even Nagi couldn't ignore her own heartbeat beginning to race out of control as more and more villains spilled out from the mass of dark haze that spread across the plaza below. Yaoyorozu— _bless her calm and collected mind—_ brought up a good point that yanked the break on her heartbeat somewhat. Yuuei had to have intruder sensors in place for these kinds of situations. Surely if they had such high-tech security system, they must have that at least. But Todoroki, for as much as she disliked admitting it, could very well be right too.

They seemed to have targeted USJ with a clear objective in mind and were clearly ready to force their way through the obstacles facing them. The place, the time, the circumstances—everything seemed too well laid out. _A well-coordinated sneak attack, indeed._ She and the rest turned back to the horde awaiting Aizawa at the bottom of those stairs as he hollered out his instructions. Their priorities were evacuation along with contacting the school to alert them of the ambush. Nothing more, nothing less. But Nagi didn't like the sound of that. Not one damn bit. It turned her stomach thinking of the risk he'd be taking to see to their safety— _again_ —while she stood on the sidelines. Sure, she might be a kid like the rest of them, but Nagi knew how to fight.

Unwillingly or otherwise. Against a single person or a crowd or _those monsters_. Always alone. And if she managed to do that back then, she would do it again now. Damned be the pain that might come from it.

 _If something good's gonna come out of that hell, you bet your ass it'll be helping you._

Through the deafening thrum of blood rushing against her eardrums, Nagi forced herself to focus before flicking all of her five fingers outward. Shards of titanium undid from her costume, the many pieces rotating mildly in place ready to respond to the smallest of motions. The one step forward though, earned her a sharp glare from Aizawa as he looked over his shoulder and gripped onto his bindings to undo them. All at once the shards she kept under her control fell lifeless around her feet, crashing on the floor as nothing more than useless pieces of metal with her Quirk gone.

"Don't." Though she couldn't see it, Nagi knew those glistening crimson eyes were staring at her, barring her from doing what they both knew she intended to do.

"But I can help—"

"No. You won't." Turquoise eyes went wide at hearing that, her heart coming to a complete halt at recalling them—won't, not can't.

" _You won't ever have to do anything you don't want to."_

Her mouth fell open wanting to argue but Midoriya's expertise shone through at the right moment just then to take over. Bless him and his nerd brain. He knew as well she did what Eraserhead's fighting style was like, and head-on battles weren't his forte. Aizawa didn't budge. For their sake, she feared he wouldn't. _You big, stupid idiot._ Nagi bit down to keep the words from leaving her lips, knowing that now wasn't the time. No matter how much she wanted to say it.

"You can't be a hero with just one trick."

Jumping out into the fray, Nagi held her breath at witnessing first hand exactly why Eraserhead was a pro. And why she came to admire him after these last years. An abled hand-to-hand combatant with a Quirk that demanded such style, he excelled in something Nagi found remarkable. Each thought running through her mind tried finding a flaw in his plan, to give her a reason to join, however small. But nothing came up. Any which way she saw it, helping him would be giving him more to worry about as things stood.

"Chitanko-kun, Midoriya-kun, hurry! We must evacuate!"

Iida's sudden shout finally snapped her out making Nagi turn on her heels to sprint after her class, eyes sparing one last glance at the plaza and teeth biting harder down on her lip to keep herself from charging in after him. _Don't._ Mind regrettably made up, she made haste after them but just as she reached the backline, a mist of dark purple spread out impeding their way. From it, a voice rumbled through. "I will not allow that."

Through the haze, Nagi could barely make out slits of yellow. Eyes. This guy was nothing but dark mist. "Greetings, we are the League of Villains. Do pardon our audacity, however, for we've come today to U.A. High School—this bastion of heroism—to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."

A collective, silent horror washed over them all at once. Nagi, herself, froze at his words. Them? Kill All Might? It sounded absurd even to her own ears but that they so boldly trespassed Yuuei gave much to think of and brought Todoroki's words from a few seconds ago to the forefront.

 _This is too planned for it to be a bluff._ And that only meant that they had what could be a sure way to kill All Might.

The thought alone iced blood through her veins and it only dropped colder when the tendrils of black haze extended further to envelope them all. Her breath hitched at Kirishima's and Bakugou's sudden interference, the sudden flash of the explosion taking her by surprise. Their attack must've hit something though from how the tendrils receded, but the smokescreen made it hard for her to see anything beyond that.

"Dear me, that was close." As the smoke cleared, Nagi spotted the two of them unharmed but also saw the dark haze spreading once more as the man's eyes reformed and narrowed. "Yes, though students you may be, you are still prospective golden eggs—"

"No, get back, you two!" Though Thirteen's cry reached her ears, what stopped her in her tracks completely was the dark mist that rushed towards them. Nagi held her ground as much as she could through the onslaught, her arms held aloft to keep the strong gust of haze from knocking her down. Chancing a peek through the darkness, though, brought her heart to a screeching halt at spotting Yohsei struggling to stay by Thirteen's side. Instincts kicked her whole body into full throttle to rush to him, but before she could get even a step closer, the haze took over and the darkness swallowed her whole.

"—and my job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"

* * *

 _The way they crawled on her skin felt disgusting. Almost like a thousand bugs were crawling on her skin and no matter how much she brushed them away, they remained latched onto her. The ink on her chest had never done this before, not once since it'd activated and she figured she'd gotten a Symbiotic Ink like the rest of her family. Now it wouldn't keep still. It wouldn't even let her sleep. And unlike before, her Quirk no longer gave her the sense of comfort she so desperately craved now._

 _Unlike her dad's speed, her mom's strength, or even her big brother's intellect, hers had always been a more subdued one. One meant to protect, to use her own vitality to save others. Not take it away to empower herself. It turned Yohsei's stomach knowing what they had done to it. How they'd turned her beloved Quirk into a double-edged knife that empowered her and withered others._

" _A life for a life is only fair, my dear. After all, if we're exemplary at something, we must never do it for free."_

 _Long nailed fingers yanked down on her floppy ears wanting to dispel the sound of Grandfather's voice from her head. But even that didn't do away with his gruff words. Nor did it get rid of the collar wrapped on the nape of her neck. It gave her a moment of solace, that was all. A moment to try and remember what life outside this hell was like. What life with her family was like. What being happy and pain-free was like. But those memories were a blur in Yohsei's mind now. Though she couldn't discern how or why, she was sure that the tingle of electricity she sometimes dreamt of going off so near her head had something to do with it._

" _...Yoh-chan? ...are you awake?"_

 _Her whole body stiffened at the sound of that voice as it traveled out from the ventilation grate underneath her bed. Not even muffling the sound with her closed ears made it any less real. Before, she'd been so happy to finally hear someone else's voice aside from her own. It meant she wasn't alone here. It meant she didn't have to suffer by herself. Now, after what happened, Yohsei knew it'd be better had she actually been alone. She didn't dare speak lest the venom seeped into her words either, and she angered her again. How stupid she'd been to think that they could be friends._

 _But friends didn't fight. They didn't beat each other senseless. And most certainly didn't try to kill one another._

 _Feeling her chest tighten and her breath become shallow at the mere reminder of that, Yohsei blocked the sound of her voice out, covering her ears with her trembling hands as if that would help her be rid of the memory. As if that would rid her body of the scars or her mind of the hurt. As if that would make her any less afraid of the monster that slept in the room next to hers._

 _Her lip curled as the ink on her chest slithered across it again, the newly added tattoos on her arms and legs falling in tandem with it. But as she put more attention to what they were doing, she felt strangely calm at their movements. It felt comforting; almost as if hands were soothingly stroking her, their warmth more than palpable on her scarred skin. Yohsei, all at once, felt the disgust from before dissipate from her mind as the ink continued lull her._

 _And the last thought as she finally found some peace of mind to rest after yet another brutal day was how oddly familiar their touch felt, causing small tears to pool at the corners of her eyes._

* * *

Dirt kicked up as Yohsei skidded down the landslide in his poor attempt to break his fall. When his foot got caught on debris, he tumbled down the rest of the way until solid ground stopped him in his tracks. Silver eyes scoured his vicinity, wide with panic but let out a small sigh of relief at finding nothing. But finding not one of his classmates either made all that go away in a flurry of thoughts that riled up his mind to what was happening.

An attack? On Yuuei? They had to be crazy. Mounting such thing was insane, and that wasn't taking into account what their goal was. No matter how he thought about it, this wouldn't fly. It couldn't. But the more he tried to convince himself, the more he could feel his chest and throat tighten making it harder to breath as his body turn more numb by the second. Panic almost swallowed him whole in an instant when voices suddenly reached his ears, halting everything and forcing Yohsei to pay attention.

"Some portals opened here."

"Remember to just do them in fast."

"Their damn brats, how hard can they be to kill?"

Kill? _Oh, that's not good._ _Not good at all._

Renewed by the threat not so far away, the sudden onslaught of dread wracking his body and mind were starting to be more than he could take. Heaving uncontrollably and heart ready to jump out of his chest, it took him a moment to notice the soft pattering on his skin. Of his Pix shifting against his skin soothingly trying to get him to breath. Their gesture was small and most likely just a reaction to his stress but Yohsei couldn't help be comforted by them. They held no brain function of their own. They were nothing but ink on his skin that happened to move and react to his state of mind. Still, the way the ink embraced his arms and legs and the way it curled around his chest just over his heart to soothe its tumultuous beating felt reassuring. Calming even.

And it managed to give him enough time to take a deep breath, force himself to calm down, and think better of the situation at hand. Letting himself be killed wasn't an option. He'd have to fight...no matter how much he dreaded the idea. Fighting wasn't his forte; it'd never been. Yohsei knew his role was better off as a support, off on the sidelines where he could aid others with better fighting skills than him.

 _People like her._

Shaking the thought of Nagi's ruthlessness away, Yohsei focused instead on what he could do right now that he was alone. The voices hadn't changed which meant there weren't more than those three nearby. Looking down at his legs, his fingers brushed over them as Pix stood still at his touch. It wasn't hard to make out what the best course of action was.

Yohsei knew he had nothing in strength or speed when compared to the others. Pix changed that. It made up for his deficits enabling him to be as strong as Satou or as fast as Iida. But he also knew to be careful. As he was now, casting Pix on himself would boost one or the other. Not both, and certainly not for long. More comfortable with his speed, Yohsei put a quick plan together before taking a deep breath and activating his Quirk on his legs. The ink crawled over them like a second skin, the bright blue and purple particles seeping through his costume and taking shape as small, shimmering and transparent wings at his ankles.

Symbiotic Ink let any of the pixies on his skin to function as support so long as he had the stamina to do so—barring the few debuffers he refrained from using. Crystallization and empowerment cost the most. Speed the less.

 _And it's my best for that reason._

Yohsei took one last deep breath before charging forward towards the goons. Spotting him instantly, they didn't falter to charge at him with their Quirks. Neither did he. As soon as he saw them move, Yohsei activated Pix's speed augmentation. All at once, he disappeared from their vision, appearing once more in midair to roundhouse the first. The remaining two fired their Quirks his way but having Pix still activated gave him plenty of time to dodge the attacks and go for their heads instead. Both fell unconscious quick enough and Yohsei landed crouching on the slanted ground, his hands steadying him on the dirt as he let his ragged breath settle. Just because it cost less on his stamina, didn't mean it took any less out of his muscles to jump around like that. He wasn't that strong.

Dispelling Pix and letting it settle back against his calves where it usually rested, Yoh didn't quite hear the stomping that dashed from behind him. He managed to dodge the swing of a whip but with his speed back to normal, Yohsei couldn't find the time to stop for long enough to activate Pix again without risking being caught. "Stay still you damn brat!"

Before dread could stop his blood from flowing freely through his veins, the sudden chilliness that swept across towards him and the villain sent it pumping through as a voice called out.

"Jump!"

The cry took the villain by storm along with the ice that barraged from underneath him to swallow him whole. Those few seconds being enough to conjure the Pix on his legs, Yohsei muttered under his breath to empower his speed and make the jump in time to escape from the volley of ice. Turning in midair, mercurial eyes spotted the large number of villains he failed to notice sneaking up behind him frozen in place. He landed a little on the ice, his feet skidding on the frozen surface before leaping back to stand with one of the strongest in their class. "Todoroki-kun!"

A mismatch of darkened gray and seaglass spared a glance as he let out a gelid, white breath. "Don't undo your Quirk. It would've turned bad had I taken any longer."

"S-Sorry," Yohsei replied, turning over to the villains stuck in place. Todoroki wasted no time in belittling them for their ineptitude. Though Yohsei agreed on that, he wasn't as confident in his own abilities to taunt them like that. Sure, they didn't pose much of a threat now encased in ice but who knew how many more were still in the area. "W-We should probably find the others and help them. There's no telling how they're faring if they're outnumbered."

Todoroki, however, didn't stop in his descent as he easily walked down the iced path he'd made towards the villains. "Go ahead. But I've got a few words to exchange here first." Crouching down before one of the villains he froze, Todoroki told them almost too aloofly how soon their skin would rot away from frostbite. It unnerved Yoh somewhat to hear him say something so intimidating with such an impassive expression. Though it ended up working, those thugs knew nothing more than the basic gist of things.

All they've been apparently told was that they were being recruited to help end the Symbol of Peace. Yohsei believed him, especially with how frightened the villain had been about having his face frozen completely over by Todoroki's raised hand. What little information they now had whirled in his mind, his ears perking up against his head and sweeping some strands of dark cobalt hair back away from his face as he thought about their options. As things stood, the best course of option was to help the others. For all they knew they could be in more trouble than they had been. But by the look of things, Todoroki wouldn't be doing that. It left Yohsei with two options: accompany and support him as well as he could or scour the rest of USJ for the others.

 _The latter will take time but it's what should be done. The other I might just end up somewhere I really don't want to be._

The choice seemed easy. At least it did until Todoroki ran off by himself towards the fountain plaza without even saying a word. Taken aback by how decisive he was, Yoh let out a small cry and hopped between one foot and the other, trying to make up his mind fast. He knew what was safe. He knew what was expected of him. But he also knew what he wanted to do. And how he hated that those things didn't match up.

Unable to keep it in anymore, he yanked his ears down and let out the groan lodged deep in his throat before chasing after Todoroki.

 _Why does everybody in this darn class jump the gun so bad?!_

* * *

 _Itching. Stinging. Aching._

 _No, none of those sounded right. This revolting sensation felt more like something picking at her muscles, digging into them from the inside and setting them ablaze with every jab they gave. The burning was low but constant, a tingle that never left. That low burn was fine most days. On worse days though, it felt like it cranked up as far as it would go and wouldn't let down. Like something wanted to sear through her thin clammy skin and be free. Like it wanted desperately to breathe._

" _It's normal. Your body will habituate to the foreign sensation eventually and before long, you won't notice it."_

 _That's what Nurse said anytime Nagi complained about the scorching fire that felt like a second skin underneath her own. Nurse wasn't her real name. That was all Nagi ever heard anybody call her or any of the others though. Man or woman, it didn't really matter. They were all 'nurses.' Grandfather said so. But Nagi never believed that. Nurses were supposed to make you feel better. This one didn't; none of them did._

 _They only made Nagi sicker. Injecting her with things she didn't know. Taking her away where she would lose entire chunks of time and wake to pain wracking her entire body. All of it stoking the flames under her skin more and more, letting them burn higher and hotter. So hot that passing out became typical of any given day._

 _A fever, Nurse would say._

 _Side effects, the others chimed in._

 _Progress, Grandfather called it. The nurses never questioned his word._

 _So the fire roared on, stoked by their so-called 'medicine' and 'treatments' and fanned by Grandfather's word._

 _Everything burned until one day...it didn't. The day she clutched tightly onto Nurse's cheek and let out one giant cry all the fire that had scorched inside her took over. Her pristine white world was suddenly stained the deep and vibrant color of crimson then. Pain mingled with panic and the taste of iron in the air as red dripped thickly from Nurse's face and hand, tainting her floor. What her frazzled mind registered afterwards almost a whole second later was the pain coming from her palm—no, not just her palm. Pain bloomed across her body, vivid and raging as pieces of_ something _cut through her skin. The warmth that pooled beneath her brought her attention to the bed she sat on, white sheets staining crimson with the hot blood that ran down her skin from the open wounds._

 _Her skin torn through with ease as if it were nothing more than thin paper screens. By_ something _. By metal—_ titanium.

" _Well done, my dear child." Grandfather's words echoed through her bloodstained world and she searched frantically for the source of his voice until she managed to find it. Odd, she never noticed the speakers there. Or the cameras. Suddenly her room spun in a twisted array of white and red, her head feather light and empty and making her fall back against the wall exhausted beyond her mind. Through a blurry gaze and muffled noise, she saw the door to her room open, the light pouring through enough to silhouette the dark figures that came in as Grandfather's words flooded her mind._

" _You're finally ready to proceed to the next trial."_

* * *

A high-pitched screech left her throat as Nagi fell through the darkness into a pile of debris. Groaning as she turned herself over, turquoise eyes scanned her surroundings as she stood back up, rubbing at her sore back. _Warping, it had to be a goddamn warping Quirk._ That dark mist fucker warped her somewhere else. By the way the floor beneath her feet slanted every so slightly and from how dilapidated the edifice looked to be, Nagi guessed it'd been to the collapsed zone Thirteen mentioned before.

The nearby sound of an explosion perked her ears and she turned down to blink at the floor that trembled beneath her feet.

 _Explosions?_ Instantly, a head of spiked ashen blond came to mind accompanied by a scream that sounded almost too real and close to her ear not to be there. But though she imagined him for that brief second, she certainly hadn't imagined hearing his came from maybe a floor below. Another explosion blasted through shaking the unstable floor beneath her again as the thick scent of smoke wafted in through broken windows.

Shit. The building was taking a beating from those explosions. Running her hand along the wall as she darted through to get downstairs, she let her Quirk feel through. Steel, at least most of the frame and foundation was. But it had traces of titanium. When another blast surged through and shook the edifice as a whole again, she felt the metal in her hold chipping and cracking away from the force.

 _This isn't gonna hold for long._

Alone, anyway. Not able to tell just who or what Bakugou was fighting below, Nagi opted to distribute her control throughout the building instead. Once she could feel every inch of it under her hold and overflowing with her Quirk, she tucked her arms in and visualized the metal reinforcing itself, briefly liquifying to meld back together into a piece a little bit sturdier than before. An explosion raged again, the fire licking upward at the windows nearest to her, but this time the frame didn't quiver. It held.

Great. Now it was a matter of lasting long enough to clean out the pieces of trash that were attacking them. Keeping the building at the forefront of her mind, Nagi rushed out of the top floor to find thugs running up the battered staircase. Flinging out one arm towards them, the bracelets on both arms struck outward, the silver and rose gold blending together into heavy loaded disks. Gaining speed as they traveled down, they struck two thugs right on the chest, the weight of them sending them back, as the disks bounced between walls. When she reaching the landing of the stairs and about to dismantle the disks back to liquid, Nagi felt someone press against the wall just across from the entrance of the room. Before they could punch their way through, she gathered the liquified metal near her waist and jumped to deliver a kick at it. The titanium took the energy and shot off, shaping into a large sphere the size of half her body and plummeting through the wall like a wrecking ball. A cry and groan from the other side tallied off her target as a quiet 'nice' came from under her breath. Calling the metal back to her, it liquified and hovered around her as she entered the room just as another explosion went off too close for comfort.

The heat from it blasting through singed some strands of her ponytail and choked her on the smoke as a body fell into an unconscious heap of limbs in front of her. Coughing out the irritating fumes, turquoise eyes searched beyond the smokescreen to spot two pairs of crimson red eyes.

"Kirishima, Bakugou," their names came out in small huffs as she coughed a few more times to clear her throat. Seeing more of those lowlives behind them, Nagi set her worries aside to deliver a frontal kick out towards them. Following the trajectory of the kick, the titanium responded in kind and flung outward, the delicate ministrations of her fingers molding it into a chain and balls through the air that sent them back and crashing onto the nearby wall. Leg bent in front of her as she stood balanced on the other, Nagi let out a leveled breath as she let her muscles settle, the low burn from the amount she was controlling still palpable throughout her body. Limits or not, though, letting go of the building now wasn't an option. Not when more appeared from freaking god knew.

Kirishima's relief shone through as a shiny red glint in his eyes as struck down another villain and spun to meet her halfway. "Chi! You're here?! Are you alright?"

Nagi's nod got cut short as she took back the titanium from the chain and balls to focus briefly on forming more disks to kick away at a couple of men coming at his back. Those seemingly it for the time being, she took another ragged breath and let the building tremble a little as she realigned her control to keep the crumbling structure from falling apart.

"Y-Yeah, that warp guy must've sent me here after you guys. I ended upstairs somehow."

Not paying much attention to their brief chat, Bakugou finished off another thug with a flurry of explosions from his sizzling palms. Those Nagi felt to her bones, the quaking of the building shaking her as well as her hands reached up to hug her arms and forcibly hold herself together.

"Doesn't matter, twinkle toes," Bakugou spared her a scowl before eyeing the unconscious bodies in the wake of their fight. "You get these weak ass crooks too?"

"Think so." Nagi eyed the back to the busted door and scoffed, "Took them out though, so upstairs is clear."

"That's great!" Kirishima let his hardening disappear as he wiped sweat away from his brow, "We should hurry and help out the others." Nagi couldn't agree more. If they were here, that meant that the rest of them were most likely scattered across USJ too. "I'm worried about the guys who don't really have ways to attack."

"Me too," she quickly agreed, "We should hurry to them." 'Sides, the faster they got out of the there, the sooner she'd be able to let go of this crumbling piece of rubble. Nagi was set and ready to leave when Bakugou interrupting, having a completely different idea in mind.

"If that's what you want to do, then go ahead. I'm gonna kill that warp gate."

Groaning and reaching out her hands, Nagi threatened to strangle Bakugou until that over inflated head of his popped out of his shoulders. She would've too had that not taken her focus for a spin and shaken the structure as a result. While both Bakugou and Kirishima stared up at the sand that trickled down from the cracks on the ceiling, Nagi held her breath to focus, not even letting Kirishima's attempt on convincing Bakugou distract her. Her muscles screamed in agony at the weight they were being forced to carry but she ignored them as best she could to hold steadfast.

"He's how these punks are getting around. Bring him down, and they'll have nowhere to run!"

Nagi couldn't believe that now of all times was when they decided to argue, but she could see some logic in Bakugou's plan. Take out the warp gate and they'd be stuck here. It wasn't foolproof but it was definitely better than letting them get away with attacking them. She was about to change her vote to his side when a fire lit at the pit of her stomach before quickly spreading all across her body. Nagi wished she could say she'd forgotten how it felt. But no. She knew exactly what this was.

 _I'm losing control._

The low burning suddenly erupting into the flames of hell inside of her was sure sign of that. And once that fire was gone—she didn't want to think about that.

"And it's not like I don't have a way to beat him—"

Not caring about the sure explosive punch she'd get for it, Nagi stood her ground despite her shaking legs as her words shot out in rapid fire. "Fine, go beat the shit out of the warp guy! But let's get out of here before this building falls over!"

Kirishima's raised eyebrow spoke volumes of just how much sense she made. "What are you talking about?"

Nagi cried into her hands as she dragged down her face, her legs quivering underneath her and the building starting to do the same. "No time to explain! Let's just get the hell out—ah!" A squeal got wrenched out of her throat as Bakugou pulled her away by the collar of her jacket and let loose another explosion behind her.

"Don't boss me around, damn twinkle toes. And I don't ucking get what you two are crying on about." Barely catching herself from falling forward, Nagi could feel the tethers of her control snapping one after the other as the smoke cleared, showing Bakugou grasping the head of another villain as he let out a second explosion to knock them out. "I mean, if these idiots are all they're sending after us, pretty much everyone'll be fine, right?"

Their sudden agreement to go after the warp gate villain didn't fazed Nagi as she finally felt her control give way. Kirishima and Bakugou staggered as the building shook beneath their feet but only Nagi could feel the foundation shatter as the last of her control broke. Only a couple of words choked out of her tightening throat then. "Jump out!"

Despite her shouting at the top of her lungs, her warning barely reached them over the deafening collapse of the building a moment later as it fell sideways, tilting the whole of the floor they stood on. Though they were quick to run towards the shattered windows, Nagi couldn't find her footing with how weak her control had gotten. No matter how many times she stood, the slant and shaking of the ground beneath her brought her back down.

 _Damn it! Work, you damn legs!_ Just as she managed to stand back up and felt herself slipping again, a pair of hands grabbed a hold of her. One firmly held onto her forearm while the other yanked her by her overskirt, both hauling her wobbly legs to the windows. Her hands barely lifted to cover her face from the shattering glass and metal that Kirishima smashed out of the way with his hardened arm. One second they were on the tilting building and the next, they were free falling out to relative safety. That last wasn't any better than the first, though, and as she watched the floor come dangerously close to them, Nagi let out a squawk as she tried holding onto the two of them for dear life.

"Fucking hold on!"

A small but powerful explosion set off right beneath them and tossed them at awkward angles in an attempt to break their fall. Fortunately, it worked, but unable to react in time, Nagi felt her grasp slip after the explosion, sending her ways away from them instead. Tumbling on her way down, Nagi wrapped her arms around her chest and tucked her head in but found no way to protect her legs.

 _Forget them, Nagi! Just live through the damn fa—_

 _Crack._

The disgusting taste of metal from blood came into her mouth when her teeth bit down hard on her lip to not scream from the scalding pain that struck her ankle so suddenly. Hands desperately grasped at the ground as she fell, trying to stop herself from rolling further down. But it was incredibly hard to do that when she couldn't concentrate with the pain striking anytime her leg hit the ground. Finally skidding to a stop, Nagi gasped for air and immediately tried sitting up and move her legs. Simply lifting herself up, though, sent a flurry of pain rushing up her spine from her foot. Turquoise eyes scoured her limbs until spotting the grotesque picture causing her so much trouble.

Red stained her right ankle and her breath hastened at seeing the bone jutting out. Damn, Nagi knew her control had gotten weak from holding the building up for so long but she hadn't thought it'd be this bad. _Not bad enough for my fucking bones to snap like twigs._

"Chi! Are you—damn!" Though their footsteps had already stopped, Nagi paid neither of them any mind. Her priority was dealing with this injury first. Struggling to seat up, her breath hitched at being forced up by Kirishima's help. "Y-Your ankle—"

"I know." She didn't mean to snap at him. Pain did beat down her patience a lot though. And trying not to freak out took most of what was left over. Just as she tried picking herself up more, Kirishima held her down, concern etched clearly on his face.

"No, you can't move. You'll make it worse."

"Watch me."

"Fucking listen to him." The growl Bakugou let out caught her attention more than Kirishima's calm demeanor did. Nagi matched and dared she think surpass his glare with one of her own at hearing what he said next. "You're staying here."

"Like hell I am." Not with Aizawa fighting alone. Not with everybody else trying so hard to survive. Not when she could still fight herself.

Kirishima, being the much calmer voice of reason, held her down from moving. It didn't seem to bother him much that she kept trying to pry his hands off of her with sharp curses either. "Chi, you can't possible move with your ankle like that."

"I know." She wasn't an idiot. Stubborn, yeah—maybe a little bit hotheaded even—but definitely not stupid. "I can fix it."

"Even if you can, you won't be able to fight, you idiot." _That's what you think._ Bakugou finally had enough of their quarreling, not wanting to bother anymore with her, and instead focus his eyes on on Kirishima, "Stay with twinkle toes, shitty-hair. I'm more than enough to deal with the warp gate bastard."

She wasn't having any of that. Dead set on returning to Aizawa and the others, Nagi turned to Kirishima whose sight went back and forward between her and Bakugou. Conflicted as he was, Nagi needed him focused for this.

 _I can't do this by myself._

"Kirishima." Though she called him, both of them met her gaze. Kirishima's brow knitted together at her determined scowl and dared to hold it with a baffled expression of his own. "I need you to hold onto me." His head jerked back unable to readily get what she meant. Nagi brushed her fingers against her knee and thigh to make herself clear. "I'm gonna set the bone back. I need you to hold me down as hard as you can."

"You're fucking crazy."

Kirishima seemed to fall more on Bakugou's camp for that one. "He's right. You shouldn't—"

"Listen to me," she hissed under her breath as she took a piece of her overskirt and ripped a long strip with her teeth. Holding onto the strip of cloth for a second, she focused on him. No glare or scowl on her face. No trace of pain for that second. Only the genuity she wanted her words to convey. "I want to get back out there. I want to help Aizawa-sensei and the others. And if you're worried now, you won't like it if you let me do this by myself. 'Cause I'm telling you right now, fixed or not, a little broken ankle ain't stopping me."

"It's not a little broken though..." Saying this under his breath as he let out a heavy groan, Kirishima took a knee on her right side and held down where she showed him before. A wince came from the sudden pressure and he let go, worried, but Nagi held his hands down in place and held his eyes to get her point through.

"No matter what, don't let go, get it?"

"Yeah."

Hesitant as he was, Nagi knew she'd have to pull this out on the first try. Not impossible but it would certainly hurt like hell. _Worth it if I can back out there with them._ And if she was gonna go down either way, then she'd go down fighting till every last bone on her body shattered.

Brushing her fingers through her right leg, she could feel that ever familiar sensation tugging from underneath her skin and muscle. The same one she felt from buildings and from her bracelets. It was the indistinguishable way that titanium reacted to her touch. Nagi quickly took note of the damage; having lost control and only fracturing her tibia from the fall could be the smallest of blessings. The blood loss would be slow to catch up to her, and the pain she could deal with.

"Hold on tight." Kirishima nodded, eyes and focus rapt on her injury, but Nagi could feel him lessening his grip. "Tight, Kirishima."

"But—"

"For fuck's sake." Bakugou sunk to a knee on her other side and swiftly reached out to hold her down where he found space between Kirishima's hands. Nagi winced at how his gauntlet bit down on her thigh but didn't complain anymore than that. That hard pressure was exactly what she needed.

Knowing they had it now, Nagi brushed her hand over the injury, feeling her control connect to the silver-white bone. But as she felt herself tug at it, dread reared its ugly head into her mind. This again— _just how many more times am I gonna do this?_ As her vision blurred for an instant as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, she blinked them away to focus again on her ankle and, this time, on the black ink that was now cut through from the bone jutting through. A torn barcode with a bloodied word and number beneath. Even without seeing it, Nagi knew what it said and what it branded her as.

 _Beta_ _13._ One of the original hundred and four taken. One of the few remaining.

The overwhelming rage of remembering that shadowed the fear in an instant. With one long inhale, she used that anger to grip her hand into a fist and twist as hard as she could in one fell motion. With an audible _crack_ the bone snapped back into place, letting blood pool out of the injury. Nagi bit down on her lip bruising it further to keep her cries from coming out as she hastily wrapped and tied the strip of her skirt around the wound. Staunching as much of the bleeding as she could now was key.

 _I'll last longer that way._

Once done, she asked them to help her up and they managed to bring her to her feet fairly easily. Though shaky, now that she had less weight to carry, her Quirk could uphold her body better. Even with an open wound, she'd be able to move if she could ignore the pain for long enough. Stepping away from the two of them, turquoise eyes instantly went to the plaza that wasn't too far off from where they were.

"Let's hurry." Though her breath was thready, Nagi hid it well enough and sprinted ahead of them all the while doing her best to ignore the harrowing pain that shock through her spine with every step.

 _It doesn't matter. Ignore it._

She'd done it before and she'd do it again if it meant helping them get out of this alive.

* * *

"Yoh-chan!"

Through ragged breath and numbing pain, Nagi managed to show Yohsei a smile as he and Todoroki came into view from out of the landslide zone. Tripping a little on her bad foot, she skipped out of Kirishima's waiting hand and caught herself to keep up with their pace as they rushed to the plaza.

"I'm so relieved you're okay." If not for the pain and circumstance, she'd be smothering him in hugs.

"Y-Yeah, me too," the once over he gave her though changed his tune pretty quickly. "N-Nagi-san y-your an—"

"Don't mind it." Refocusing her line of sight ahead, her eyes narrowed just as the plaza began coming into view for them. "We've got bigger things to worry about here."

What she saw peek over the upward climb took her aback briefly. All Might immobilized by a twisted enemy that she couldn't make out. Two others waiting on the sidelines as the one dragged All Might down a warp gate on the floor. Almost too quickly for any of them to see, explosions blasted beside her as Bakugou shot off with speed unrivaled. Her eyes followed the course of his right hook that blasted the warp gate villain to the floor just as he surfaced from the floor.

"Get the hell outta the way, Deku!"

It wasn't hard for the rest of them to follow that act up. Todoroki having the farthest reach, sent out his ice through the ground, sweeping it across to freeze the villain holding All Might in its clutches. The adrenaline pumping through her veins numbing the pain got Nagi to pick up the pace and flick out her fingers to have all the pieces of titanium on herself in control and at the ready. Undoing the metal of her bracelets into liquid, they molded into spears with a few more flicks just as Nagi took to the air to deliver a flying kick with a vast amount of energy to feed them. The spears shot off, whistling through the air and aiming for the lanky man Kirishima went for. Shockingly though, he somehow avoided both the close range hit and her spears, the latter something he'd barely dodged away from. Nagi did her best to land on her good foot, stumbling back to where Yohsei stopped beside Midoriya.

With the leeway given to him by Todoroki's precision, All Might managed to escape from the grasp of the villain that'd held him at bay and join them, giving her little bit of room to breathe in relieve. But as her vision focused back on said villain something struck her hard and sharp, stopping her heart and dropping it to her stomach. Not just her either. Beside her, Nagi could see Yohsei's quivering hands reach up to cover his mouth as rapid and haggard breathes escaped him. His silver eyes wide and trembling. Nagi wasn't any better off. She could feel her entire body shaking, her legs trembling as they had before, not out of los of control like before but instead out of the sheer horror that chilled every last fiber of her being.

"...why is…"

All at once, her mind reeled and overlapped another scenery over the fountain plaza of the USJ. A grand arena, not big enough to house an entire field but not too small to not serve its purpose, spread as far as she could see in that appalling white that'd been burned into her eyes. In there, _it_ held her painfully aloft by her feeble arm, the calloused hand gripping her small limb with no care whatsoever. Too exhausted and beaten to fight back anymore, Nagi could do nothing more than cry, tears mingling with the blood from the struggle of fighting it for so long already.

Nagi felt herself shake as tears pricked her eyes now, the pieces of titanium in her control quivering as her mind took the blow of suddenly seeing that thing right there in front of her. And though no one said a word, Nagi clearly heard Grandfather's displeased exhale and his gruff voice coming from the back of her neck, just behind her ear.

" _How...disappointing."_

Her fingers ghosted across the back of her neck expecting to find that collar on her nape. Finding nothing jarred her mind and her titanium shuddered in midair, some falling onto the floor as she began losing control of her Quirk with the fear striking her senseless.

"...why is that _thing_ …"

" _Perhaps I underestimated your progress. You are not as ready as I had hoped."_

Yohsei's muffled sobs made it all too real and more of her titanium clattered lifelessly to the floor as Nagi concentrated her control on her body instead. Inside her, she felt her bones shudder trying to shift into a comfortable position in preparation but her mind couldn't find one. It knew to ready her body for what would come but the thing was—

Nagi couldn't fathom being there again. So her mind fared war against itself. It knew she wasn't there any longer but seeing that thing before her kicked its instincts into overdrive as it threatened to undo her Quirk and the hold she had on herself altogether. It'd learned long ago that frailer bones broke easier.

And once they broke, it'd be over.

" _Let this be a lesson, my child. After all, bone only strengthens after breaking."_

Her body jerked at the jarring crack and scream that echoed loudly through the vastness of her own mind. Nagi couldn't see anything wrong. No matter how much she looked over her own body, nothing was out of place. Nothing was broken. But she could certainly feel it still down to the depths of her very core. And as it wrenched the terror right out of her heart, it finally took with it the words she couldn't force herself to say fearing they would make all of it much too real.

"...why is a Nomu here…?"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Finally finished! This chapter may look like it took around the same time to write but believe me, it didn't! I've been writing this ever since the last one posted while writing for my other wips, and it was a damn uphill climb to do. I'm just really happy that it's done. Especially because this is the chapter where I'm officially gonna start to not give a freak about page count. These chapters will be as long as they need to be, I say! Whether that'll mean chapters as long as this one in the future, we'll have to wait and see on that. I'll say, tho, that this was definitely more freeing in terms of writing for me. I got a bare-bones outline that I get to follow and add as much meat as I want to it and give you all lovely people more to read!_

 _Speaking of you guys, I just peeked at the follower count this past few days and I'm like crying a little because there's 45 lovelies following this story. This story only has 4 chapters and there's already so many of you waiting to see what happens next and that just makes me so happy (TwT)._

 _On that note, I'd like to thank those who added to that number! Thank you so, so much to_ _ **Volpiko**_ _,_ _ **Kakaski**_ _,_ _ **Ema333**_ _,_ _ **Izuminka1992**_ _,_ _ **cravenato426**_ _,_ _ **Kirino Tsuki**_ _,_ _ **lune-de-bleu**_ _,_ _ **ARavensShadow**_ _,_ _ **EthaGrinndt**_ _,_ _ **halyyy**_ _,_ _ **0owya77o0**_ _,_ _,_ _ **YukinaArisato**_ _, and_ _ **bored411**_ _for adding to that number! I'd also like to thank_ _ **Aviantei**_ _and_ _ **animefairy299**_ _for the review!_

 _Finally, here's a little special shoutout and super duper thank you to_ _ **Marshmellowtime!**_ _For those of you who don't know (but, c'mon, how don't you?), she's a wonderful writer here on too and the author of an awesome BnHA fic to boot! Reading her work (especially_ _ **Of Heroes, Blood, and Boba**_ _) is what inspired me to publish this story after having it brewing in my mind for so long. So you have someone else to thank for this story now! :3 She's someone I admire a lot as a fellow writer so I'm just over the moon excited that she's decided to join you lovelies in this journey too! :D_

 _Alright enough of that :3c Really, all I've got to say to you guys is that I love you and your awesome for giving me and this story the time of day! I hope you enjoyed this long ass chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update._

 _Lots of love and hugs to all of you, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night,_

 _ **\- Evie**_


	6. Chromium

**vi.|Chromium**

— _A steely-gray, lustrous metal, it is of great value due to its hardness and highly corrosive resistant qualities which make it the main component of stainless steel. Derived from the Greek 'chroma' meaning 'color' due to the array of hued compounds it displays._

* * *

 _Chaos._

 _There was no other way to describe it._

 _They had all been thrown into the ring—fewer than she recalled. To Nagi, it made no sense why they'd be put together in one place. Other than the scheduled times, Grandfather greatly disallowed for any of the children to see each other. Cross contamination, he called it. Which made it simply incomprehensible to her little mind why they would be put together now. Just as confused and lost as her, the others scrambled to find their bearings. Some cried and shouted while others shut down completely unable to bear being in this place. The arena wasn't just any training ground for them; it was a place where the many before them that came were never to be seen again._

 _Their burial site._

 _And the lot that hadn't completely lost themselves in the panic realized this too._

" _Guess this is it." Grounding her teeth at her blatant renouncement, Nagi scowled Ikari's way. The older girl only glared back, her sharp eyes and crescent-shaped pupils striking uneasiness into her as she sneered. "What?"_

" _Don't say that," Nagi said. She stepped forward to try and comfort some of the others but they merely pushed her away or ignored her altogether. Despite this, Nagi refused to let things be and Ikari, just as done with everything, spat out her disdain at her actions._

" _Don't you ever give up!" Her cry echoed through the dome ceiling of the arena and quieted some of the cries from the children surrounding her. "Can't you see or are you just that stupidly blind?" Ikari spread out her arms, daring her to face something she already knew was there._

" _...what…" Yohsei's words came through her sobs, pausing just long enough to be heard as her silver eyes skittered between the two of them. "...w-what are you talking about?"_

" _I heard them when they took me out," Ikari turned to the rest of them, eyeing each one of them in turn and finishing by glaring back at Nagi. "They're going to kill us."_

 _Gasps of terror and renewed cries of anguish washed over the crowd as the chaos that had momentarily stopped returned with more fervor than before. Nagi's fists tightened by her sides, anger mounting at Ikari's callousness._

" _Shut up, Kari."_

" _Don't act stupid," Ikari stepped forward, her height easily giving her the advantage to shove Nagi down onto the floor and scowl at her from above. "You heard them too. Something's been up even before this and you know it! Now Grandfather doesn't need us anymore. We're a damn handicap and he's getting rid of us because of it!"_

 _Concern and fear spread further through hushed questions and pitched shrieks. It crawled into her as well, the sick feeling carving itself a home in her heart and wanting to turn her into nothing but a crying, hopeless mess like the rest. Simply because Nagi knew that what Ikari said was true. She overheard it by chance—not anything concrete but more than enough to know that Grandfather had no further need for them._

 _And if he was willing to be rid of his 'precious children', then Nagi understood how Ikari came to such gruesome conclusion. And yet..._

" _I won't let that happen." Incredulous jeers and stares shot her way, the scrutiny freezing her on the spot._

 _Claws clicked heavily against the ground as one of them stepped forward. "I don't think we can stop them, Nagi."_

 _Ticking mechanisms clacked and clicked as another shook their head. "Ikari's right. We should just...give up. It'll be better. Easier."_

 _Yohsei tugged down at her ears as tears poured from her doe eyes down her face but said nothing. Others echoed Ikari's sentiments. For them it was easier to give up than to keep going. Easier to stop now than put more useless effort in surviving._

 _But they had to._

" _We have to keep going. We have to survive if only for a little longer."_

 _Ikari's lip curled into a nasty glower, the ghastly white and porcelain tones of her skin turning darker than black by the second as she threatened to get her point through. Even if it meant repeating the endless brawl that neither had ever won against the other._

" _Survive?! Can't you see some of us are sick and tired of holding on to be put through this all over again!" She took a step forward, the shadows beneath her spilling over like thick ink as they began to take vague forms. But Nagi notice those forms shaking unable to hold their shape. Hesitant. Scared. Exhausted. "I'd rather die than go on like this!"_

" _We won't!" The statement rang through the arena quieting their despair and giving her time to reiterate her point. "If we can outlast whatever this is, heroes will come save us." A collective groan, one Nagi came to expect after so many times, came over them._

" _Forget about your fantasies, you idiot!" Ikari shouted, her nonexistent patience torn to shreds by her words at such time. "No one's coming to rescue us! We're just kids no one cares about anymore and that's how we're going to die. Just accept it already!"_

 _But Nagi remained adamant, fervently shaking her head even as the shadows beneath Ikari grew and her skin turned completely black as a starless night. "Yeah, I heard them too! And you're right. It's pretty obvious they put us here to get rid of us but they're being forced to!"_

" _Forced?" Yohsei's voice came above a whisper as she let go of her ears a little bit to hear her better._

" _Yeah, it's heroes," she stepped forward, the titanium deep in her body reacting to her ramping emotions. It quivered, at the ready for whatever she had to do regardless of their answer. "They're getting rid of us because something's up beyond here. I think—" her hands gripped at her white gown, needing and wanting to desperately believe in her own words. To have hope. "I think...they're coming to rescue us."_

 _At last._

 _Hushed whispers spread across the room until Ikari stepped forward again, her shadows pooling back beneath her feet as the dark tint of her skin receded to reveal bright green eyes staring down at her. Despite her feral demeanor, Nagi could see beyond it to the broken inside. Broken just like the rest. Just like her. But even so, Nagi also saw what she felt so fervently at knowing what could possibly and finally mean freedom—_

 _Hope._

" _You sure about this?"_

 _She wouldn't lie. "I believe so."_

 _Sneering at her poor choice of words, the shadows beneath Ikari shot out like tendrils threatening to wrap around her neck. And though Nagi knew that if she wanted to she could easily snap her in two with her shadows, she held steadfast._

" _Believing isn't enough."_

" _It's all we have."_

 _And that's what she knew wholeheartedly. The only thing she knew. True or not, they had a chance to escape. And if it took believing that they finally could, then she'd take the chance. No matter what. After the longest moment in her life, the tendrils receded after a moment and Ikari stared at the ground at a loss for words until she lifted her gaze to meet Nagi's._

" _What's the plan?"_

" _Reach the surface." Turning halfway to point at the only exit blocking their way, Nagi heard some of the others as they stood up wiping their tears away or quieting their sobs to better listen._

" _...that door…" A sniffling Yohsei came to stand closer to them, still keeping as much space as she could from both Ikari and Nagi. "It's too tough to break down… We can't open it from the inside."_

 _"I know," she said, "Which is why we'll get them to open it for us." Though many questions came up as to the how, Nagi only turned to Ikari, turquoise meeting green as unspoken words went through the two. "And fight our way through."_

 _It was an answer. The only one left in their predicament. And somehow Ikari understood this too. They all did._

 _The helpless children huddled as far from the door as they could, Ikari and Nagi manning the front lines. Still unsure, Ikari stared at the floor before taking a deep breath and letting herself turn entirely black, her shadow sinking into the darkness created beneath them. Turning darker, the amalgamation of shadows quivered before it shot out in all directions, crawling through the floor and up walls. Darkness consumed every corner of the arena, plunging them into blackness that turned darker and darker until there was nothing to see. Nothing to feel. Utter oblivion._

 _And despite being unable to see her, Nagi heard Ikari's voice as clear as day as it surged through the darkness with bated breath._

 _"You better...be right..."_

 _She hoped so too. No, doubting now wouldn't cut it. Nagi needed to be everything she wasn't for them now more than ever. Determined. Strong. Fearless._

 _Like him._

 _Letting a piece of titanium cut through from the inside of her palm, she held onto the piece like a blade and felt the warmth from her body crawl under her skin onto the metal turning it into liquid. Weightless and tinted pink instead of silver, it clung around her shoulders ready to answer her command. Eyes trained at where she recalled the door being, Nagi took a deep breath and held her bleeding hand tightly in a fist over her chest to calm her racing heart. To keep from being heard._

 _"What if..." Yohsei's murmur was disquieting rang through the emptiness of nothing, and though it had been as quiet as a mouse's squeak, the dread it carried more than well enough for even Nagi to feel it. "...what if those things...come here?"_

 _There wasn't a need for her to say what those things were. Nagi knew just as much as everybody else. But as Yohsei trembled beside her, she reached out her blood hand and held onto hers. Shuffling feet drew nearer as the rest clung closer to her, the fear of these things more than tangible in the air she breathed. But now wasn't the time to be afraid._

 _"Then I'll fight them." Yohsei jerked in response, silver eyes that shone dimly in the dark somehow finding hers and seeing the smile Nagi shared with her to make sure her words stuck. "It'll be alright, Yoh-chan. I won't let anything happen to you. We'll get out of here, I promise."_

 _And for once after all that had happened, Yohsei held her hand as tightly as she could._

* * *

Every bated breath came shallow through her open mouth from the mere sight of it. The air suddenly turned to lead as it entered her lungs. Her whole body shook, bones quaking and dangerously brittle as the abnormal beast broke from its frostbitten confines to tear itself apart to exit from the warp gate it went through. Turquoise eyes widened at the sight of it's muscles cracking from the ice as it tried making its way to them despite its missing limbs.

 _It won't care for injuries._ Nagi's mind ran a mile a second, battles seemingly endless from those years flooding back preparing her for what could come. And as its limbs regenerated anew, she felt herself go numb. _It can regenerate…_

"Get back, everyone!" Though hard to hear over the thrum of her blood rushing through her eardrums, Nagi whirled to face All Might at hearing the muffled warnings. His arm brandished out to keep them away from the Nomu but his astonishment at its regenerative abilities visibly struck him. "What? His Quirk wasn't shock absorption?"

Working with the information she overheard, her mind recalled a myriad of things until they narrowed on one in specific, the thoughts slipping from her mind through her lips faintly. Her voice just above a whisper trembled as it muttered, "It has more than one."

The one orchestrating the whole thing only verified her suspicions. This Nomu, Nagi could see that it was different from those others. And that was aside from its color scheme. It wasn't just an overload of brawn and sinew. This thing had multiple Quirks in it too. Shock absorption, hyper regeneration—god knew what else that thing had.

"Nomu is a super-powered sandbag designed to withstand you at 100%." The villain seemed to peer at them over the pale hand obscuring his face. The way his hands twiddled at his waist in such a familiar fidgety manner—Nagi easily recognized what childish impatience looked like. "First, we need to get our gate back."

 _Get their gate back?_

"Go, Nomu."

All at once, flames ran amok inside of her as her control flared back into action. The familiar sensation that came with it coursed through her retaking what it had lost in a rapid flurry. Control surged through her body, reinforcing the stagnate pieces of her brittle bones and extending further down to the shards that had fallen on the ground around her. Before she could regain all the control she'd lost, a forceful gust raged through and blowed her away along with the pieces she failed to retain. Her fingers hurried to get whatever titanium was at hand to pierce the through ground and stop herself from scattering too far from the others. Feet skidding to a stop beside her but not fast enough got her to react and snatch Midoriya by his gym clothes to keep him grounded alongside her. Searching through the dust as it cleared, they found All Might far from them after having taken the Nomu's direct hit in place of Bakugou.

That said blond was safe and within grasp of their little group took a huge load off her shoulders. That it happened too fast for her to see and much less react hadn't though. That thing wasn't like any of the others. And the one pulling his strings wasn't beyond letting it loose on them.

"But violence in the name of saving others is admirable? Isn't it, hero?" His spouting nonsense wasn't any better. Nagi's lip curled further with every word, the discord he tried to brew igniting clear distaste and anger in her. "Heroes and villains both thrive on violence, but we're still categorized. 'You're good, you're evil.' That's how it is!"

 _It isn't._

It wasn't that complicated. In fact, it was so simple that it bordered on idiotic. Violence came from those that thought themselves to be right when nothing else worked for them. No good or evil involved. But Nagi knew what all that spiel was for. She'd said it to herself too many times not to recognize its purpose. All that delineating such clear cut differences between them did was justify that violence. And it justified doing the wrong thing...for what they thought was _their_ right reason. Admitting that to herself twisted her gut but before her control could suffer from her instability she held tightly onto it, letting it empower her instead. The noticeable shaking of the titanium hovering around her stopped as she let that emotion surge to the forefront unimpeded. Thinking about those things right now wasn't optimal. Now what mattered was helping All Might however she could with what little time she could still keep her Quirk activated. That idea had fortunately crossed everybody's mind and they stepped up more than ready to take what came at them.

Pivoting on his frozen foot, Todoroki veered his attention back to the villains. "It's three-on-seven."

"Kacchan exposed the fog's weakness as well!" Midoriya's enthused claim, though somewhat shaky, reached her ears now much clearer than before.

"These are some crazy dudes, but with all of us supporting All Might—" Eyeing him from the corner of her eye, the distinct change of Kirishima hardening his arms came into clear view. Behind him, her eyes caught the trembling sight of Yohsei, eyes locked on the Nomu that stood awaiting its orders. "We can beat 'em back!"

"No!" Her titanium stiffened at the pro hero's call, her attention veering to him as he stepped forward to prevent them from taking another step forward. "Get out of here!"

Todoroki and Midoriya were first to chime in with protests to which All Might already had an answer to. "Right you are, young Todoroki. And for that I thank you. But fear not! Sit back and watch a pro get serious."

That did little to deter Nagi's fear though and she didn't fall too far behind in giving her input. Standing from her crouch, the sharp metal shards twirling around her to keep their momentum at hand, turquoise eyes narrowed on All Might's burdened back. "Pro or not, you barely know anything about that thing. What Quirks it has, what it can do." Restraining the scowl that wanted to form, her fist tightened at her side. "You want to send us back? Fine. But at least let me help you with what I know."

"I appreciate the sentiment, young Chitanko." The small thumbs up he gave her widened her eyes as she faltered at his dismissal. "However, there is someone in need of you more than I."

Her brow knitted down at his words, each one leaving her mouth silently as she repeated them under her breath. But no matter how many times she said them, Nagi found nothing to grasp from them. It wasn't until she heard someone behind them fall to their knees and Kirishima's concerned call that she understood what he meant.

"Kisaragi, get a hold of yourself!"

His words fell on deaf ears with how out of it Yohsei was. Yohsei's hands clenched around him, fingers gripping tightly enough to turn his knuckles white. Taking the few strides to get to him, Nagi took Kirishima's place, snatching Yohsei by his shoulders to haul up to his feet. At having him that close, the sight of him so stricken finally struck her with vivid detail. Dilated, mercurial eyes flitted frantically almost as if lost in something. Or somewhere. A place that Nagi bet was the same one she'd just yanked herself out of too. Something apparently too much for him to do on his own.

"It's not real. Not real. It isn't real. It's not—it can't be." Through a cracking voice, he repeated the sentiment, his head shaking every which way to dispel what he'd seen. What was right in front of them.

Clicking her tongue, Nagi hauled him closer and shook him to get his attention. Knowing yelling would do nothing but agitate him further, she whispered to try and snap him out of it. But her whispers quickly became more urgent hissing when he wouldn't.

"Yoh—Yohsei, listen—listen to me!"

Finally those eyes with only a thin strip of silver showing through stopped and lifted to meet her turquoise gaze. He gaped at her, lips parting as if to say something but finding no air or words to do so. Not wanting to miss her chance, she gave him no time to fall back into that daze.

"It's real." Silver eyes widened as tears pricked at their corners. Her gut twisted at seeing him like this, the mere sight bringing up memories she didn't like either. But knowing that they couldn't afford him breaking down on them, she pressed on. "Yohsei, this is happening; it's real. But it's not the same as back then."

Dark pupils finally flinched, letting more of that silver shine through. His gaping mouth let out a soft 'what' that drowned as she hastily continued. "We're not kids anymore. We can do something to stop it now."

"No." There wasn't any hesitation on his part which made the slap they delivered all the more poignant. This time his words were clear albeit shaky and breathy as his hands trembled, failing to push her away. "I-I-I can't. I'm—I'm t-t-t-too—" A whimper escaped him before he could finish his muttering mess of a sentence. Scrunching his eyes shut, Yohsei yanked at his ears to press them as hard as he could over his head.

" _...what if those things...are here?"_

"That's fine then." Her hands reached up and covered his own to help block the rest of the world out. The sudden touch shot his eyes open, his head snapping up to meet her as Nagi gave him a reassuring smile. "It'll be alright, Yoh-chan. I'm here and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise." Yohsei's lips parted, his eyes quivering as more tears welled up in them and threatened to spill. But before he could say anything the hand villain rushed into action, intent on dealing with them on his own.

"Let's clear the game and go home."

Nagi wasn't sure what spurred her into action. Barely any thoughts registered other than what needed to be done. What she needed to do to keep him at bay and keep her promise.

Fingers moved on instinct, breaking down the liquid metal into dots the size of her fingertips that started reforming into shells.

 _Accuracy and extensive damage—hollow-points._

Hollowing out the top of the makeshift bullets and spreading them out in a line before her, Nagi hit hard at the target coming straight at them. Leaping into the air and kicking across with her injured foot shot the bullets out. And no gunpowder meant no telltale explosion. All that gave them away was the distinct whistling as they flew through the air towards the pale man. Being straight shots, he dodged them with ease, not breaking his stride towards them, but as she pulled back the fingers of her outstretched hand, his eyes behind the sickenly pale hand narrowed. There wasn't any whistling on their roundabout. The hollow-point bullets shot from behind, one striking down one of the hands on his shoulder before he caught on, jumping out of the way to avoid the rest that came at his back. Nagi spread out her hands and the titanium still around her responded in kind, shaping into more hollow-points. Intending to go for another volley, she took a step forward but the sheer intensity that erupted from All Might as he charged the Nomu all at once halted her in her tracks. The aftershock that followed the collision of their punches sent her off them, throwing them all back away from the brawl that ensued.

Kneeling to better avoid being blown away by the incoming gusts of air, Nagi did her best to see beyond it, reaching out to grab Yohsei by his waist and hold him steady beside her. Unlike Yohsei who adamantly made the attempt to look away, she stared straight ahead at the fist fight before them. Eyes wide with awe took in every hit All Might landed on the Nomu, the many turning into blurs with the incredible speed he took. He met the monster blow for blow, each sending off another gust of wind that threatened to blow them away. But for Nagi, his undeniable tenacity was already doing exactly that. Even as the ground shook moments before rupturing beneath their feet from the sheer brute force and vigour of his attacks, All Might spared no effort against it.

"If your Quirk isn't shock nullification but absorption, then you must have a limit, right?!"

Spectating such feat left her speechless. Not once during her time with Grandfather had she defeated the Nomu pitted against her. Not once had she gotten out of that arena unharmed, much less victorious. Watching All Might, the one hero she admired for so long, bash the hell out of their living nightmare with his own bare fists—do the one thing she never thought possible by her own hand—shook her to her core.

"Built to counter me, you say? Made to withstand me at everything I've got?" Even beyond the cacophony of the onslaught, All Might's voice rang through loud and clear as day. His words pumped the blood through her veins faster than fear ever had, her heart ready to burst out of her chest from the adrenaline and pure amazement.

This feeling... Nagi was almost certain she'd felt it before. Her hand clutched her jacket tightly where she felt her heart beating out of control as she urged herself to figure it out. Where...where had she felt this before? It wasn't the ever familiar twisting of her gut by guilt, nor was it her head overinflating with pride. It wasn't even that ever constant numbness that clung to her brought on by fear.

 _No, that's not it._ Every punch that made the Nomu falter brought on an instance of that feeling. Each time piecing itself back together into what used to be the bigger whole she'd looked up to. _I remember now._

"A hero...can always break out of a tough spot!"

Nagi had needed strength that day. She needed to be fearless. She needed to be more than she was. To save them and save herself. But Nagi remembered thinking that she wasn't. She'd been just as scared as the rest. But if they needed someone to rely on—someone that would give them hope—then she'd be their pillar.

 _Just like he was mine._

"Tell me villain, have you ever heard these words?"

All Might sent the Nomu flying into the wooded area nearby with another punch, their brawl destroying what came in their path before meeting midair. With force unfathomable to Nagi, he took Nomu by its arm to throw it down on the floor. The ground split from the mere force used, another shockwave spreading and making the ground tremble beneath them. Still hearing Yohsei's quiet sobs, Nagi reached down beside her to his hand that flinched at her touch. Nagi looked to him eyes shining brightly and with crooked smile on her lips. One of pure disbelief and astonishment alike.

"...Yohsei, look…"

Hesitantly, he lifted his gaze away from the ground, ignoring her completely to look straight ahead. Silver eyes widened at the sight, his tears blown away by the air blasting their way, and reflected in them Nagi saw the same thing she felt coursing through her. Both watched their teacher—her hero—as he drew back his arm and prepared for once more punch.

" **Go beyond! Plus ultra!"**

Nomu went flying on impact, breaking through the dome ceiling and even further beyond. The whole of USJ shook from the force of it and as the quake settled, Nagi stood to gawk at the hole left behind that let the sunshine pour in from the outside.

"Is this a comic book or something?" Nagi turned to Kirishima and the others, eyes scouring each one and sighing when finding them unharmed. "It's like he just smashed past the shock absorption. That kind of brute strength...is crazy."

"And against that power… The regeneration wasn't able to keep up with that rush of attacks." Trying to see Bakugou proved not the best of ideas as she felt the fire inside flickering, threatening to die out. She was reaching her limit much faster than she thought.

Nagi pushed through, forcing her bones to harden when they seemed brittle enough to break under her own weight. Faltering a step back, Nagi managed somehow to stand tall and watch as the dust cloud dispersed to gave way to the two remaining villains.

"Well, villain. I'm sure we'd all like to end this as soon as possible."

 _Yes, please._ Tentatively curling her fingers into a fist, Nagi winced at her cracking joints and bones as they reformed to fit the movement. Stiff but mobile all the same. If they could move, then she had maybe a minute or two to spare before she lost most of her control. Only a minute or two before Nagi became the utter burden she refused to be.

Throwing a fit, the hand villain scratched at his neck repeatedly which Nagi found extremely odd. She knew a handful of nervous tics—mostly hers and Yohsei's—but nothing that self-destructive. The tantrum he threw didn't add up either. If she were to guess, Nagi would say he was some years older than her. That being the case, she couldn't understand what kind of man-baby he was to rage this bad about a failed plan. _Seriously, put a damn lid on it and leave already._ But even as she thought this, her control on a few pieces remained intact. Something warned her that this guy wasn't just throwing a hissy fit for no reason.

"As expected," Todoroki took a step away, clearly meaning to leave. "It looks like there isn't a need for us to fight."

"Midoriya, Kisaragi, Chi!" Nagi felt her knees buckle an instant before she locked them when Kirishima called out to them seeing as they were the three most up front. "We oughta get out of here now. It'll be worse if we end up getting taken hostage or something…"

 _I would if I could._

Who was she kidding? Even if she could, Nagi wouldn't dare move from her spot. Something just didn't sit well with the stalemate that came after such display of power. It twisted her stomach, not exactly guilt but not quite relief either. Forcing herself forward, Nagi barely moved an inch before a pair of hands wrapped around the one she was lifting to attack with. It pulled her back almost throwing her off the already weak balance she had, but she held steadfast wavering only when seeing Yohsei's bluehead peek just over her shoulder.

"Nagi...let's go..."

Just barely above a whisper, she tried not to let herself be affected by the weak tone of his voice. But it was too much for her to simply ignore. Yohsei didn't want to stay. Unlike her, he wanted to let all of this and what it brought back far behind him. And frankly, Nagi couldn't blame him. But even if she wanted to, the fact still stood that she couldn't move.

 _Just a little, Nagi. Try to push yourself just a little bit more for him._

Fine.

Completely releasing her control on the shards from her costume, they cluttered noisily to the floor. What had surrounded her as liquid took no shape, instead breaking into nothing but silver dust that shimmered as it got swept away by the breeze blowing into the facility. All that control surged through her body instead, lighting the small warmth inside her to a tepid glow. It'd be enough to get her to walk out, she supposed. Nagi barely managed to give her back to the fight when she caught Midoriya crouching down a second before he completely disappeared. The gust of air that rushed past her threw her off her feet and as she turned on her side to see where he'd gone, her breath hitched at the sight.

Midoriya flew through the air, fist pulled back to punch at the villains that charged at All Might and aimed at the metal plate on the warp gate. But turquoise eyes widened at the warp gate that opened letting through a hand of the other villain. Dread bursting through, Nagi frantically searched for titanium, cursing herself for letting her guard them and releasing her hold on the few shards she'd had left.

A cry came undone from her throat just as she felt the sharp edge of metal pierce from the inside of her palm. "Don't—!"

The deafening shot that rang through shut her throat closed as a bullet pierced through their hand. For a second, she forgot to breathe and even think while putting every effort into figuring out where exactly the bullet came from. It wasn't until she heard more shots that brought her attention back to the entrance that Nagi spotted the rest of Yuuei's staff.

And among them one person in particular Nagi swore on her life she'd never complain about ever again.

"I, president of Class 1-A, Iida Tenya, have returned!"

In one fell swoop, the teachers brought along by the principal dealt with the thugs that had risen like annoying pests from unconsciousness. Stranded on the ground with her legs out of her control, Nagi watched as shots were fired at the villain, bringing him down with a well aimed few before a curtain of fog veiled over to shield him. But even that fell to Thirteen's blackhole and finally forced them to retreat.

But not without having the last word.

"I may have failed here, but I will kill you next time. Symbol of peace, All Might."

All at once, the pretzel her gut had turned to during this whole ordeal undid itself as she took one long breath to at last calm herself down. Finally, they were gone. Nagi hung her head as she held herself up by her arms not putting any particular attention to her legs.

"...Nagi-san." Lifting her gaze to meet Yohsei's, she could see from his pale face and glazed eyes just how much this had drained him. He stood at a distance, hands clutched at his lap. What Nagi wasn't sure of was whether it was out of frustration or leftover fear.

Not wanting to let her own shock catch up to her, Nagi tried sharing a smile with him. It turned more lopsided than she had wanted it to though, and became a crooked grin instead. "Hey, Yoh-chan." He didn't give any answer and instead crouched down to bury his face away against his knees. "Um…" A chuckle escaped her, more than anything to hide her blatant concern. "Yohsei? You okay there, bud—ack!"

The sudden wall of cement that rose so close behind them took her aback and wrenched an unwanted squawk out of her. That she couldn't have possibly moved had it come too close struck a nerve and prompted her to put more attention to her limbs. Sitting up, Nagi busied herself trying to reapply her control. But finding that nothing worked no matter how many times she tried made her groan as she dragged down her face with her hands.

"Chi! Kisaragi!" Her head spun sending singed tresses of her hair whirling with her to find Kirishima catching up to where they were. Giving him a faint grin and waving didn't seem to give him the ease he was looking for. "You okay?"

"Could be better," she said. Admitting she couldn't actually walk right at that moment sounded like a bad thing though. "But I'll take living as a consolation prize anyday."

Before she could pad more on that lie, the gentle touch of fingers on the back of her hand surprised her and brought her attention back to Yohsei. Downtrodden silver eyes peeked from beyond a curtain of cobalt hair as they stared at the ground and her hand simultaneously.

"Don't lie." Even if she wanted to uselessly deny his reproach, Yohsei didn't give her to time to do so. The soothing sensation of Pix crawling onto her skin took any words instead. Staring down at their touching hands, she saw as the dark ink slithered down his arm and across where his fingers touched her to her hand. The invigorating feeling hit her like a truck, ripping a sharp breath from her lungs. Nagi let it settle, feeling her exhaustion a little less and her bones a little less brittle than before. As he took back his hand, Yohsei only said, "Try."

Nagi, doing as he suggested, reached over to her legs and touched them. Her body reacted without delay this time, rearranging her loose bone structure back to a decent state. The control once more in her hands gave her the confidence to try and stand again. Though a little wobbly on her feet at first, Nagi soon got ahold of her legs turning to Yohsei as he slowly stood with her. She smiled at him even when he kept his gaze on the floor, and thanked him for the help before turning to Kirishima. "We should head back."

Her classmate nodded and accompanied them as they caught up with Bakugou and Todoroki. Just as they reached the landing of the stairs, one of their teachers stood before them. One that she failed to recognized at first with her so decked out in her full hero costume. Blinking a few times to let her tired brain register it, Nagi huffed in the end, amused and impressed by the sight.

"Haven't seen you like that in a long time, Chun-chan."

Though Suzume pursed her lips in disapproval, those dark jade eyes still managed to soften through her mask as they took in each one of them there. That didn't seem to assuage her enough though. "Are you children all fine? Are you unharmed?"

"Mostly," Kirishima thumbed back at Nagi who stuck out her tongue at being outed like that. "Chi kind of broke her ankle though."

"What?" Immediately raising her hands up in surrender and to hide behind them, Nagi made the attempt to not fall for that concerned look of hers. "Nagi, is that true? Why are you walking if it is?"

"I-I'm fine...mostly" Clearing her throat and hiding it behind a dry chuckle, she finally dared to look Suzume in the eye. Bad idea. The worry etched in them struck down all her walls like ten ton wrecking ball. Wanting to ease her a bit, Nagi gave a small smile while tapping her said injured foot against the ground. "See? 'Sides, Yoh-chan is helping me keep together so I'm all good! Right, Yoh—"

Turquoise eyes widened at turning in time to see him fall over without warning, the heavy thud of his hitting the ground striking her deeply. Suzume and Kirishima rushed to him while Bakugou and Todoroki stayed back to give them space. And despite wanting to go to him as well, Nagi felt the slight cracking of her bones as the warmth of her Quirk dimmed and her control wavered. Yohsei being out took away the Pix he cast on her and with it what little strength she had to keep her Quirk activated.

As things stood, if Nagi moved an inch, she'd surely lose control of her legs and fall. And she'd rather die than let that happen in front of Suzume. Said pro picked Yohsei in one arm while letting her hand fall over his forehead. The soft blue hue that glistened on her palm spread across his forehead like a gently glow. Nagi narrowed her sight on that, looking at Suzume's ministration and at how her face contorted, changing between confusion and pain before settling on something more or less resembling relief.

"Overwhelmed," she muttered under her breath.

"Is he alright?" Kirishima asked. Nagi blessed his soul for being so caring and asking that before she could even rip her eyes away from Suzume.

"Yes."

Though it was enough for Kirishima, it certainly wasn't for Nagi. "What happened?"

"He fainted from overwhelming stress and anxiety." Her jade eyes glanced over her shoulder to meet hers as she replied. "I've taken most of it though. He just needs to get some rest now."

"Is that all you did to him?"

"Yes." Suzume's brow knitted down, perplexed by her out of the blue question. "Are you sure you're fine, Nagi? You don't sound okay to me."

Averting her eyes from her scrutinizing gaze, Nagi nodded and hung her head to keep from looking at her. "I'm fine."

It took Suzume a bit to stand from the ground while lifting an unconscious Yohsei along with her. Nagi peered from beneath her eyelashes as she cradled him in her arms before turning to the rest, speaking to each in turn as she did so. "You all seem alright to go on. Please don't dawdle. The police are already outside to assess the situation and they need you all there for that. And as for you, young lady, you better get medical attention." That being directed at her brought her gaze from off the ground to finally meet Suzume's dark jade eyes. "I don't care what you think you can handle. If you don't go to Recovery Girl's office to see to that ankle, you will think Shota's punishment mild compared to mine."

The threat hit so heavily and so unexpectedly that it left Nagi slack jawed, leaving Suzume free to rush up the stairs with Yohsei. _Did she...did she just threaten me into getting treated?_ The awkward silence that followed broke the slightest of bits when Bakugou growled under his breath what sounded like a mild insult as he headed up first, not caring about leaving them behind. Kirishima watched his receding back before turning to Nagi with a grin, his sharp teeth making that smile all the more dazzling and playful.

"Whoa," he raised eyebrow to her as she still busied herself with picking up her jaw from off the ground. "I'm curious now, how many times has this happened for her to straight out call you out like that?"

"A lot more than I thought she knew about, apparently."

"Well, you better to the infirmary then." Huffing a little, Kirishima smacked her square on the back before running off up the stairs.

Nagi was sure he meant well by it. Really, she did. That didn't mean she wouldn't cuss the hell out of him for throwing off her balance though. Grunts and muffled shrills escaped her as she flailed her arms around in an attempt to keep from toppling over like a domino. She rocked back and forth until she finally found her balance with her arms spread out awkwardly at her sides. But Nagi didn't dare to move an inch.

 _This is fine,_ she thought to herself, _this is absolutely fine. I'll just stand here like a damn scarecrow until I can control my legs again. Yep, that's it. Everything will be a-ok—_

The crack Nagi felt run along from her already broken tibia all the way up to her knee sent her falling sideways. Flailing her arms to keep from falling face first, she somehow managed to fall back to a sit instead. More cracks resounded on impact and Nagi kept her pained groan from leaving by punching at the floor instead.

"Are you hurt?"

The monotone sound of his voice set the pain aside for a fraction of a second as Nagi met Todoroki's mismatched stormy and seaglass gaze. Impassive as his expression was though, it made an odd contrast with what his words were meant to portray.

Her mind, still in a loop at how to decipher his words and tone, spoke out of turn, stating the obvious that she didn't register until after it left her lips. "...I fell."

"I saw that." His gaze lowered to her feet, lingering on her wrapped ankle—which she realized by now was stained a dark maroon—before meeting hers again. "Can you stand?"

"Um...yes?"

That one of his eyebrows rose in blatant disbelief made her nose scrunch up in distaste. Rubbing the back of her head to make up a better excuse didn't work either as he let out a long tired breath. Eyes blinked a couple of times and followed Todoroki as he came around to crouch by her right side. Without a word or warning, he took her arm to throw over his shoulder with ease. Nagi winced as he did that, the ice on his left side biting against her forearm and wrist. Noticing this, Todoroki spared a glance before Nagi felt his shoulders stiffen beneath her as a warmth spread, melting the ice in a matter of seconds.

 _That's right. He's icy-hot._

Not bothering to ask her, Todoroki adjusted her arm over his shoulder better before reaching over to grab ahold of her belt. "Try standing up on three." Nagi hummed in agreement but wasn't ready when he instantly jumped to three and hauled her up. Scrambling to her feet, she concentrated most of what little strength she had on her left leg and managed to hold it together enough to stand with his help.

Sighing at finally being back on her feet, Nagi turned to Todoroki with a frown pulling at the corner of her lips. "What the hell happened to one and two?"

Todoroki didn't bother with her question, instead focusing on the slow but steady pace that would eventually get them to the top of the stairs to reach the exit. Though keeping her leg and the rest of her body under control took most of her concentration, Nagi managed to glance up at Todoroki a few times as they painstakingly climbed the steps.

"...thanks for helping me."

His reply was quicker than she expected it to be. "Don't mention it."

"But I'm thanking you."

"And I said not to mention it."

"Well, who would've known?" Nagi chuckled under her breath, grin widening at the thought that brewed in her head to break the figurative ice around them. "Someone's shy."

"Not particularly."

Shoulders slumping at how she'd been dismissed so easily, Nagi rolled her eyes and dropped the sweet talk opting for her more natural crudeness. "You know, being a killjoy kills."

Todoroki didn't even deem her with answer for that. All she heard was the slow inhale he took. Nagi couldn't tell whether it was to dispel her words or simply to gather the mental strength he'd need to deal with her. God knew he'd need it if he was going to be like this the whole way up. _I'll die of boredom before we even reach the top._ Blowing a raspberry as she looked down at every step she took, an idea came to her at seeing her right foot dragging behind her a little. But her lips pursed after giving it some thought, the joke seeming somewhat tasteless. Might be a bit too over the top for a simple classmate. _Wait. Over the top—what am I thinking?_

The gamble that came with such joke would pay up good if it worked. If it didn't, well, Nagi might as well start prepping to crawl up those stairs by herself. 'Sides, she highly doubted he could be anymore fed up with her than he already was.

 _Here goes nothing._

Breath hitching and her sudden tensing up brought Todoroki to a halt. Immediately staring down at her to see what the matter was, Nagi hung her head and kept away from meeting his eyes. Forced to by her looking down, Todoroki finally asked, "What's wrong?"

Through gritted teeth, Nagi hissed trying not to oversell her pain too much, "...my leg." Finally looking down to her limb, Todoroki's shoulders squared at seeing what had been stiff for the most part completely limp now. Unable to keep it in anymore, she chortled and lifted her head showing off a crooked smile. "It's a noodle!"

All at once, Todoroki took the longest and deepest of breaths before crouching down on the step they were on. It wasn't till she noticed how quick he took her arm off from over his shoulders to sit her down on the step that she realized exactly how badly her joke had gone. "If you're well enough to joke around, then I'll take it that you can get yourself to the entrance just fine as well."

"Oh, come on." Her whining fell on deaf ears and Todoroki easily stepped back to make his way up without her. Nagi waited for a moment hoping this was just a bluff—his way of getting back at her sick joke—but she instantly regretted the gamble when his footsteps got further away. "Okay, okay, you're right! Sorry that it was in such bad taste! Todoroki? Todoroki, please, don't leave me here!"

And when Todoroki didn't respond and his footsteps were long gone, Nagi threw her head back and groaned out loud.

"I really _can't_ climb the stairs!"

* * *

 _Saltines. Saltines. And oh, would you look at that, more saltines._

Did they have nothing else in this gloomy bar except for salted crackers? Yori dreaded finding out whether they somehow sustained themselves with nothing other than crackers and booze. Doubtful seeing how much of a whiny ass their boss was. But with that being the case, it meant that there must be food somewhere in this rundown place. Well, at least he knew now that they didn't keep much aside from alcohol and saltines on the backside of the bar. Knowing he'd have to eat something soon, he settled with the crackers, taking the whole box of them and rounding back to the other side of the bar to sit on a stool. Yori didn't care about what noise or mess he made. He was alone after all. Not odd seeing as he purposefully chose the day they'd be out on that little 'plan' of theirs to visit.

Mostly to find out how it turned out.

Calling the knot in his stomach worry would be an understatement. For as vague as Kurogiri had wanted to be, Yori wasn't an idiot and figured out what he needed from his words. Although not completely understanding how or why, Yori knew they wanted to rid the world of All Might. The idea, at first, sounded absurd until he gave himself another second to think about it. Knowing that the man Grandfather had been allied to was behind this gave their claim more credibility than he was comfortable admitting. Regardless of what Yori knew or didn't, one thing was certain: he couldn't disregard any of their claims. Much less when they threatened to attack the very school Nagi attended.

The salted crackers tasted like dirt now. Not too different to how all food tasted all the time. But the disgusting flavor only ladened his mouth further at the mere thought of her being in danger. Of course Yori knew Nagi was strong—Grandfather wouldn't have kept her alive for as long as he did had she not been—but he couldn't help the concern that gnawed at him still. Mindlessly chewing at a handful of crackers at a time, one of his hands busied itself with flipping his phone open and closed over and over again. Uneasiness urged him to text or call her, to do something to assure himself that it was only him being overly anxious about everything. But anytime the thought came he forcefully pushed it back, refraining from even opening his messages to text her.

Too much hung on the balance for his concerns to ruin it. Yori had already gambled his chance that morning by appealing to Nagi's coddling nature to get her to stay away from school for the day. His failure to convince her left them at an impasse that he wasn't sure he'd be able to endure for much longer, though. Either she was alright or…

 _No, her seedling's intact._

That was the only thread of assurance he had and it would have to suffice for now.

Tired of worrying over something he couldn't help, Yori ate his stress away and stuffed his face with as many crackers as he could. But as he struggled to chew through the wet mound of tasteless dirt, a portal opened in the midst of the bar startling him out of his mind. Choking and the crackers, Yori spat them out and pounded on his chest to get himself to breath as his golden eyes swept across the room to find Shigaraki's limp body on the floor, thick blood pooling beneath his arms and legs. It took him peeking over his stool to see that the blood actually came from bullet holes.

Shigaraki groaned mildly while Kurogiri came into view afterwards out of his own portals. "Shot in both my arms and legs… We completely lost! All those underlings we gathered, defeated in an instant. Even Nomu was defeated!"

Plans being foiled by the meddling kids of Yuuei was something Yori never thought he'd be happy to hear. It undid the knot in his stomach and made breathing a little easier knowing that Nagi was well out of harm's way. The same couldn't be said about Shigaraki as he whined to his master about being wrong where All Might's condition was considered.

"No, I wasn't."

No matter what he tried, Yori couldn't keep the shudder from passing through his body at the sound of his voice. It still managed to do something to him even through a measly screen. To keep his mind away, he focused on the report they gave to the two men over the screen instead. Things went as bad as they could've from what he heard. Not only did the thugs they picked up get arrested but they also lost the gargantuan idiot that was Nomu. A good thing on Yori's books. Not so much on theirs.

"After all we did to make him as powerful as All Might!"

Oh, so that's how they meant to kill him. Gave a little more veracity to their aforementioned plan. Didn't take away that it was poorly executed in his opinion.

"Power… That's right." Yori turned on his stool to glance down at Shigaraki whose voice rose above a quiet thought. "There was one child who was as fast as All Might. And the girl—the twisting metal one from the farm too."

Yori's throat shut close and his heart stopped at such simple description that said more than to him. _He recognized her? But how?_

"Oh?" The tint of interest in the man's voice served to further strangle him where he sat.

"If they hadn't gotten in the way, we might have been able to kill All Might."

A new much more lethal knot tied in his stomach at this. But one thought kept it at bay. No matter what, Nagi was safe so long as she remained in Yuuei. After this whole debacle they would up their security— _they have to_ —and she would be safest from them there. And even if that didn't work, this smidgen of insignificant information Shigaraki gave the man didn't matter in the least. They didn't have their mastermind scientist anymore. Grandfather being behind bars made any of them useless now. No one could helm the project from scratch like he had.

They're no use to him.

She's worthless to them.

 _So just forget about Nagi._

"Surely you have regrets, but know that this was not a futile exercise. Gather the elite. Take all the time you need."

But listening to the small speech he gave to invigorate Shigaraki's broken pride didn't exactly silence those doubts either. Paranoid or not, he needed to keep Nagi out of their radar. Putting her in any sort of danger wasn't worth anything he was willing to pay.

"Inryoku." It took him a second to realize Kurogiri called him, probably a few times by the way his eyes angled suspiciously. He motioned to Shigaraki with a wave of his hand, opening a portal that took him away elsewhere before continuing. "It would seem your task has arrived sooner than expected."

"Yeah?" he asked, sidestepping the puddles of blood as he approached the warp gate villain. "And what would that be exactly?"

"While Shigaraki Tomura recovers from his injuries, you will aid Giran in recruiting."

A fine eyebrow raised, skeptical at first as he thought this through. Figuring it was as good a time as any, Yori boldly stepped forward with a grin starting to lift at one corner of his lips. "Sure thing, boss. But you've gotta pay up first. My services ain't free."

Kurogiri lowered his head but before he could say anything, another voice interrupted him as it came from the speakers behind him.

"Give the boy the information, Kurogiri."

"Master?"

This time, he disregarded Kurogiri to address Yori himself. "What you asked for, boy, has certainly piqued my interest. As such, consider this a gift from us to you in good faith that you will do your job for us well."

Given the greenlight, Kurogiri opened a portal to reach into before pulling his hand out with a small card in hand. Yori took it without much preamble when Kurogiri offered it and peeked a glance down to see handwritten names along with other information. A small portion of the ones he'd asked for. Guess this is how they'd keep him on a leash for now. As he pocketed the card, Yori turned halfway to look at the imageless screen.

"I'll skulk around the turf I'm familiar with. I'm sure some thugs there will be interested in joining your lot."

"I said well, boy." The way his words so deftly changed meaning without his voice dropping an octave told Yori that he hadn't been as assuring as he'd hoped. "Surely, you can do better than some mindless ruffians."

Pursing his lips, Yori actually gave it some thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. Though he didn't like the tone nor his insinuations, he'd admit that, as things stood, it was in his benefit to go along with this for the time being.

"I guess...there are a couple more capable hands that come to mind." _A couple of basket cases but capable for sure._

"Begin your search there then."

"Sure."

"And take your time as well, boy. Assure yourselves that these will be, as you say, capable enough hands to aid Shigaraki in the ordeals to come."

* * *

"Let me know if it hurts."

"I'm telling you, I'm fi—ah!"

Recovery Girl stopped at Nagi's pained cry, somewhat twisted ankle in hand as she bent forward to inspect it, but the jesstful snicker that came afterwards earned her the swift smack of a syringe cane to her side. Nagi rubbed at the sore spot and letting Recovery continue her examination in relative peace. As she twisted her ankle, Nagi cried out as a real this time around, sharp pain shot up her leg and up her spine. And though tapping the ground with her other foot distracted from some of the pain, it didn't cover up the nurse's exasperated sigh.

"It's misaligned, alright." Gently, Recover let her reddened and swollen foot rest on the small footstool below her.

Nagi huffed, crossing her arms and raising a finger, "Hey, I think I deserve some credit here! It was definitely twisted way worse when it broke."

Her joke fell flat in all its glory, Recovery Girl deeming it worth of only a lackluster expression. Nagi gathered after the whole fiasco with Todoroki almost a half hour ago—asshole did leave her to make her way up on her own after all—that perhaps now wasn't the best time to joke around. But she had to admit that it was a hard habit to kick. Stress heavily kicked that exaggerating nature of hers into its next gear, and pain only doubled it. And though she mostly calmed down with all the time it took to haul herself to the nurse's office, the pain remained. What's more, it got a little bit worse.

 _Todoroki better watch his back 'cause he ain't getting away with this that easily._ Yeah, maybe Nagi took the gag too far after what they all went through but, in her defense, Todoroki needed to learn to take a joke too.

Recovery leafed through her file, laying it on the bed where Nagi sat as reference. Her brow, however, furrowed as she inspected what Nagi could only discern as a set of x-rays.

"When was the last time you went to get adjusted?"

The question made her recoil slightly. A nervous chuckle escaped her as she gave the only real reply she could. "Maybe a year or two ago...I think."

When Recovery heaved another sigh, Nagi almost expected to be whacked by that cane of hers but to her bewilderment, all she got was the stern yet concerned look from the old crone instead. "I can align your tibia back to its proper place but I'll need for you to loosen your Quirk to do so."

"Alright." Nagi admitted that she didn't like seeing her like this, a mix between disappointment and concern etched in her eyes and face. Guilt made her comply with the old lady's request rather easily. Getting it fixed was another reason too, but a rather minor one at that point.

Recovery's narrow gaze came to her hand after lingering on her turquoise eyes for a moment before she lifted her cane to nudge at the fist Nagi kept ahold of. "And I'll need to readjust what you did to this as well before healing you up."

Feeling a little self-conscious about it, it took Nagi a minute to undo the grip on her hand and show the exposed wound on her palm. A small piece of bone of a silvery-white jutted out from the gash, slightly coagulated blood coating the edges of it as more bubbled through as the pressure relented. Recovery Girl didn't panic at the sight of such injury though. Nagi bet she'd seen worse in her heyday. That troubled look didn't leave her though. Instead, all that seeing her pierced hand do was make it worse. The twist in her gut tightened at the sight of her like that. So as to not cause any more harm, Recovery Girl deftly placed a couple pieces of gauze over it and pressed down. Flinching at her touching the bare bone and open cut, her gaze lifted to meet the old lady's.

"I read that small adjustments are relatively doable for you. Is that true?"

One shoulder shrugged apathetically at her question. "Mostly. It's definitely easier to mold it back when it's a change I caused, but I've always been a little iffy on my anatomy."

"I'll help to keep the adjustment as close to its proper place as I can."

Given that as her cue, Nagi concentrated on the bone she felt underneath the gauze and focused on that alone as she began to loosen her Quirk's reach. The ever persistent hearth that sat at the pit of her stomach gradually burned out, lower and lower until she felt it as nothing more than the tiniest of warmths against her skin. _That should be enough._ And it was. Nagi felt how the pressure Recovery Girl held on her hand loosen as the bone liquified without her control and pooled on her wounded hand. Seeing this, the old pro held her wrist in one hand and carefully brushed her thumb on the inside of her wrist and along her forearm. The ministration stopped halfway and repeated as she said, "Mold it to the line. Be wary to avoid nerves and vessels."

She knew that. But instead of giving her lip, Nagi laid her other hand over Recovery's to follow the motion with her own fingers as she reignited the flame and regained control. Performing methodical motions back and forth to mold her skeleton back into a semi-proper place was something she was used to doing. Though she'd have to admit that this was a little different than her morning routine. Frankly, adjusting bone stuck inside her body was way easier than reforming it after it already got out. But with her help it didn't feel as odd as when she did it alone. And that she knew where things went better than Nagi did also may have something to do with the ease it brought.

 _Maybe_ _I should think of studying some anatomy._

Once all the liquid silver-white was gone from her palm, Recovery Girl went to work with her tibia. That one being more hands on for the old lady made it easier on Nagi, though not any less painful. It'd be like setting a broken nose or finger back, she said. After having heard that, Nagi should've expected the cruel ruse she'd pull on her though, since the old crone gave her no warning to when she'd snap the bone back into its proper place. Quite literally left crying out mid-sentence and almost cursing out at the old bat. Biting her lip to keep from earning herself another whack, she focused instead on molding back her tibia. Simple, really, now that it was back in place. Thankfully, most of the pain went away quick enough thanks to Recovery Girl, and though exhausted from the stamina it took, Nagi breathlessly thanked her all the same.

"I suggest you go to the hospital, child." Nagi stopped just as she finished fixing her pants over her bare foot and slowly stood up from bending over to see her brooding expression. "From what you told me, it could be highly likely that it's not just your ankle that's misaligned."

"Well, whatever's wrong, I can align it back myself." Nagi tapped her foot against the ground after putting on her shoes again, veering her eyes away from Recovery's but chuckled at the thought that came after. "I'll look at an anatomy dummy next time, though, that's for sure."

"Consider getting a new set of x-rays done then," she insisted, "For both my and others' future reference."

"Those things freak me out."

The taut line on the old nurse's face told Nagi that she didn't like the answer but surprisingly didn't bother reprimanding her. Still, the sullen look on the old lady didn't sit well with her. It didn't help that she reminded Nagi of someone else either. Feeling awkward and rather guilty about the tasteless joke, Nagi stopped midway across the infirmary with her hand outstretched towards the door and turned herself halfway to Recovery Girl with a tight-lipped smile.

"I, um...I think I can ask for a few days off to go." When that sullenness left her features, Nagi turned back to open the door, "My boss is kinda mean though, so don't get your hopes up."

Closing the door and leaving the extra rooms of the infirmary behind her, the first thing that caught her attention was how low in the horizon the sun already was. Damn, she'd never hear the end of it if she missed that dinner. But even as she hurried to the locker rooms to change back into her uniform, ankle feeling perfectly fine now, there wasn't any disregarding what happened to her and the rest of her class. Recovery told her that she'd taken absurdly long to see to her because of her other patients having higher priority. All Might and Midoriya, who somehow broke his legs using his Quirk, being top of the list didn't give Nagi any reason to complain or disagree. Yohsei being close second on the list, though, bothered her only because of how worried she'd been about him. After what they had seen, she certainly felt sick herself. Not even the pain from her ankle or hand distracted her from such obvious matter.

The more she thought about it, the more that the thought of food alone made her want to vomit. Thinking of a delicious steak didn't make it any better either. Not looking forward to food or even walking back home alone, Nagi thought it better to wait the uneasiness out. Or hope that it might at least lessen if she could quietly rest her head.

"Nagi-chan?"

Ochako's somewhat anxious call got Nagi to lift her head from her knees as she crouched against the outside gates of the school. Dark brown eyes looked at her from a few feet away, and another framed pair of dark cobalt accompanied hers that widened at seeing her there.

Iida approached her alongside Ochako as his brow furrowed slightly and he angled one of his arms her way. "Chitanko-kun? I thought you left school grounds ahead of the rest of the class."

"I did, technically," Nagi eyed the back of the gate that separated their school behind them from the rest of the world before giving them a wry grin. "And I thought most of you'd left by now too."

"Most retired back home immediately afterwards, yes," Iida confirmed and raised his arm to adjust the glasses over the bridge of his nose. "Though most were concerned about the wellbeing of those of you who came to be in the infirmary."

Ochako crouched down with her but Nagi paid her no mind, finding the pictures she mindlessly drew with a twig far more interesting. "I'd imagine with Midoriya breaking his legs and all."

"Not just him, Nagi-chan. You too. We were worried after what Kirishima-kun told us." The hold on her tiny twig faltered a bit but didn't stop for long. Instead Nagi covered the bottom half of her face with her hand, not wanting to let the warmth crawling on her cheeks show. Ochako didn't seem to notice as she gave some thought to something else in her mind. "And Kisaragi-kun also but I'm sure he's alright, seeing as he got picked up right after being discharged from the infirmary."

 _Makes sense,_ she thought as she drew what could vaguely be distinguished as a fairy. Yohsei's injuries weren't so much physical as they were mental. From what she wrung out of Recovery Girl, Suzume had been right on the money about what happened to him. And she guessed that, overwhelmed as he was, using Pix didn't make things better. That added another one to the long list of apologies she had to make. Something she'd eventually get around doing.

"Speaking of which, you should head home and rest after today," Iida took the few steps to close in on their little circle. "I'm sure you need it after Recovery Girl graciously treated your injuries."

"Didn't feel like going back alone," Nagi mindlessly mumbled under her breath. "Was waiting for Midoriya, actually."

"For Deku-kun?"

Nodding, the small twig broke mid drawing and she heaved a long sigh before meeting Ochako's curious eyes. Seeing the opportunity, she grinned into her palm before deadpanning, "He's my roommate I told you about."

"WHAT?!"

Chortling at first, Nagi couldn't help breaking out in laughter at their joint reaction. Especially Ochako's. Springing up to stand, she teetered on the heels of her feet chuckling still, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Though they quickly settled, Nagi let a few more bubbles of laughter escape her and, after the shock wore off, heard Ochako's breezy laughter and Iida's mild chuckle join hers.

"Well, if that's why you're here, then we can all wait for Deku-kun and go home together!"

"Well, it's getting pretty late," Nagi glanced over to the horizon where the last wisps of sunlight had already disappeared behind some minutes ago. "If he's not here soon, we might have to book it to the train station."

"Fear not, Chitanko-kun!" Iida's arm jutted out at odd angles as he huffed out proudly. "If there is the slightest chance of that occurring, I will personally see to it that you all arrive at your stations before the last train departs."

"I'll hold you to your word then, prez."

"Ah," Ochako turned halfway towards the school's entrance, a broad smile coming to her at spotting the person Nagi saw climbing down the steps. "Deku-kun!"

Midoriya returned the gesture and ran up to them with his signature dorky grin, a well enough hand and a bandaged up one grappling at the straps of his large yellow backpack. "You guys didn't have to wait for me."

"You kidding?" Snickering, Nagi clung one arm around his neck, wrangling him down a bit to her height. "With how often you get injured, we've oughta keep a record board to place bets on." Hauling him forward to start heading to the station, Nagi loftily brandished her arm out in front of them. "'It's been this many days since Midoriya's broken a bone'. We can even bet on how long you'll last!"

"Chitanko-kun, gambling is not only strictly against school rules but unethical!"

"Whoever guesses right gets bought whatever they want for lunch by the one whose guess was the farthest off then!" Nagi let go of Midoriya's neck to teasingly whack at Iida's arm, liking the sound of her own idea more and more.

Ochako giddily touched the tips of her fingers together. "Oh, free food sounds nice! But kinda risky if you're the one who loses."

"Please don't bet against my wellbeing," Midoriya's nervous chuckle brought her attention back to him and instantly perking Nagi up.

"I'm betting in _your_ favor, my friend! You'll see. I'll be the one pitching in on the longest, injured-free time out of everybody, no matter what!" Linking her arm through his, she dismissed his freckled cheeks reddening as he babbled on incoherently at her nearness and playfully nudged him to the side while grinning. "'Sides, you're getting half of the winner's earnings and you'll be golden regardless! So you better get better with that Quirk of yours 'cause free meals for the rest of the school year sounds like a dream come true for me."

"C-Chitanko-san!"

* * *

The deafening silence got cut short when Nagi tossed her keys onto the small stand next to her front door, the jangling of keys hitting the hardwood top and causing a jarring dissonance with the quiet that surrounded her apartment—her _empty_ apartment. Bitter, a part of her wanted to call up Yori for ditching her like this. Certainly news had already spread about the attack on the USJ and knowing them, Nagi had expected numerous texts and calls ringing up her phone by now. But five minutes till ten, there was not a sign of them. Not a call, not a text.

Soft fur rubbed against her ankles and she crouched down to pet Mi-chan who meowled approvingly. Carding her fingers through the sleek gray fur a few times, Nagi rose and walked through the darkened rooms of her apartment. Still not feeling like eating anything, she searched the fridge and found a strawberry yogurt drink from the last time they went grocery shopping. Yori knew never to take those, they were her favorite after all, so it made sense that one survived. Drinking it up as she paced the flat, her mindless meandering took her back to the dining table where she spotted a misplaced piece of paper. Nagi bit down on the edge of her drink to free her hands and pick up the old receipt. Its writing having faded overtime, all that she found was a bunch of chicken scratch that she would recognize anywhere on the back side of it.

' _Had some urgent business to take care of. Needs to be done before I leave. Sorry 'bout missing dinner, darling. I'll have a wonderful breakfast for you tomorrow to make up for it."_

 _Whatever you say, Yori._ Crumpling up the small receipt, Nagi tossed it aside not caring where it landed and made her way down the hall to her room. Mi-chan's soft padding followed after her, meowing loudly when she reached the junction between the kitchen and the rest of the house. Eyeing her for a moment, Nagi turned down to look at her food and water bowls, finding both mostly if not completely empty and frowning. Deftly, she took care of that and petted Mi-chan a couple of times as the feline took to eating.

"Yori left us both hungry, huh?" The cat paid her no mind, only her ear twitched at her scratching the inside of it. "Well, at least one of us has the stomach to eat something. Good for you, huh, Mighty?"

Leaving her to herself, Nagi finished her yogurt drink before heading to her room. Ever since moving out, her apartment had never felt as empty and lonesome as it did now. Yori wasn't even gone yet and Nagi could feel some kind of void in her. Then again it also felt different from the times when they left. Though she pegged the incident at school for her sudden restlessness, it'd be a lie to think it was completely because of it. Yes, she'd been shaken seeing another Nomu after so many years. Old instincts she thought long gone resurfaced without warning, taking over without her so much as thinking about them. And although thinking of that time did bring apprehension with the memories, a sense of belonging came with it too.

For as much as she hated the hell they endured, Nagi remembered them all being together. All they had experienced—all the meaningless fighting and suffering—they had done so together. And she remembered still the hope she had held so blissfully tight to her heart. Not even the times she tried recalling how having it felt brought any memory of it to mind. All it brought on was a mild headache that started at the back of her head. It wouldn't be farfetched to say, if she asked herself seriously, that that small light wasn't in her anymore. Whatever she had possessed that brought her so much faith during those cruel times was long gone.

But Nagi felt it today. If not it, something pretty damn similar to it then. It burned within her, igniting something that she couldn't quite understand anymore after such a long time of not having sensed it. Driving her further and further to care, to protect, to not give up no matter what. Because if she would've given up, things wouldn't have turned alright.

 _And I don't ever want to break my promise again._

Nagi had been ready to fight till she dropped at the USJ. The thing was that she didn't understand why. If it'd been Yohsei, she could've easily taken him out of the fight and safe themselves. It was what she would've done before for him or any of the others. But she'd refused to, or a part of her had, at least. It wouldn't let her leave. And what was more, it wasn't like Nagi had wanted to either.

And it utterly puzzled her as to why.

Soft purring took her attention and her eyes fell to meet Mi-chan's bright green gaze eyeing her from below as she meowed loudly for attention. Smiling tenderly at the feline, Nagi bent over to lift her up to her chest and nuzzle Mi-chan's head against her cheek to distract herself of her thoughts.

 _Don't think about it._

Yeah, that was the safest bet. Thinking never ended well for her, so she oughta not. Finding herself more tired that she thought, Nagi made her way across her room ready to hit the hay for some much needed rest. The sight of the keyboard sitting atop her desk, however, stopped her midway across. Nagi gave it a minute thought before taking the few steps to her chair and taking a sit with Mi-chan still in her arms. Maneuvering the computer with one hand while petting the cat with the other, Nagi opened her browser and searched for a particular video online. Though buried in the pile of many other extraordinary feats, it was one that, if one knew what words to use, was easily found in the haystack. With her room still in complete darkness, the low light of the projected screen illuminated everything around her giving it an otherworldly glow that she stared into as the video played.

The blue hue changed in the blink of an eye to a dark red marred in black as smoke rose over the blazing background. An accident, a wreck that had left hundreds injured but with no casualties. All because of one single incredible man. As All Might rose above the havoc carrying multiple citizens safely on his back, his distinctive roarous laughter rung through. Even through the small speakers, Nagi could hear All Might's voice loud and clear, the sound reminding her of what had happened just hours before.

Of every deafening punch that defeated the Nomu. Every meaningful word that drove back the villains. Every encouraging smile to assure them that everything would be alright.

" _It's fine now. Why is that?"_

All at once, that feeling returned with a fervor that rivaled even itself from those few hours ago. The feeling that she couldn't quite describe or discern but could accurately pinpoint from how distinct it was from everything else she'd felt up to that point. From the myriad of emotions she'd known throughout her life, not one matched it in candor. None held the slightest of candles to it in fervor. It consumed her like a need that had never been recognized before but that demanded to be heard now that it stood in the limelight.

" _Because I am here."_

And Nagi desperately wanted to listen.

" _Daddy, mommy, when I grow up, I'm gonna be a hero just like him!"_

Mi-chan meowed and licked gingerly at Nagi's cheek as the small tears that had been pricking at the corners of her eyes finally fell. Sniffling them back, she wiped her face clean before nuzzling against her. The feline purred content at the affection as Nagi stared at the replay button, thinking.

 _Don't._

 _Don't do it._

 _Don't think._

For once, she rejected the incessant voice that repeated the same thing and allowed her mind to wander freely. But the longer she sat there staring at Mi-chan who snuggled against her, the louder one lone thought became.

 _Can someone like me really become a hero like that?_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Had this already written but I had to change some parts before uploading aside from editing. Funny thing, this was half of the outline I had for the chapter but seeing as this already got a bit on the long side, I decided to cut it short. Things will slow down a bit next time but I promise, they'll be good :)_

 _I've gotta thank all you wonderful lovelies who favorite and follow this story! So here's to you_ _ **Sylanc**_ _,_ _ **consider**_ _,_ _ **winter rose-chan**_ _,_ _ **LightFun27**_ _,_ _ **mousehero13**_ _,_ _ **SoCoCoCrazy**_ _,_ _ **gummi king**_ _,_ _ **BarelyRice**_ _,_ _ **Pasta-Survivor**_ _,_ _ **Silver Hydrangea**_ _, and_ _ **SashaPayne56**_ _! Tysm for reading my sloppy and drawn-out writing! You guys are the best!_

 _For now, I'll leave things at that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update :D_

 _ **Thank you all who read this story so, so much! I love you and you're the greatest**_

 **\- Evie**


	7. Osmium

_**vii.| Osmium**_

— _A metal of a blue-white color, it is the densest of all stable elements and due to its extreme properties, among which are its hardness and brittleness, it's solid form is quite difficult to work with. Derived from the Greek 'osme' meaning 'smell.' It's discovery is tied with platinum's as it came from the residue left over after dissolving said metal in aqua regia._

* * *

Dark. Dark. **Dark.**

So _dark_.

No matter where she looked all she could see was an endless pit of nothing but black.

The night looked like it could easily engulf her. Like she could lose herself in the void and find...something. Peace? Numbness? Some kind of rest? It was hard to distinguish what it was she wanted right at that very moment.

 _Silence sounds nice._

The bright screen of her phone taunted her. It lighted her face in the dark of the night. The news of what happened at Yuuei were striking in and of themselves. Maybe she might've not seen them at all had her friends not talked incessantly about it. But she had. And while they gossiped, a harrowing dread carved itself inside her from the moment she saw that thing. A monstrous beast of nightmares from a time she thought long gone. Of one that she didn't want to think about again. But the more she shoved it to the back of her mind, the more it returned with an uncanny tenacity bringing with it terrible memories.

Painful ones. Of endless nights. Of her body torn to shreds. Of tears uselessly spent.

Now she wondered how many times she had cried into a white void of nothingness. She wondered if she actually screamed as much as she recalled. Had anybody heard her? Had anyone cared?

 _Would anybody hear me if I went back?_

...back?

Before the mere thought could turn her into a mess of shallow breaths and sobs, her mind attempted to rationalize her fears away.

 _They can't do anything anymore. I'm free and he's not._

But one of those monsters was alive. It attacked children. Had it gone looking for them? Was somebody searching _for_ them?Her chest tightened so much she felt her heart stop. She crouched down to grip at her ankle where a scar remained of an old mark. Even after years of it gone it still hurt. It burned.

If that thing was lose, there could be more. They could be looking for them—for her. And she didn't want to go back.

Not to that place. Not to those people. Not to that man.

"I don't want to go back…"

Stepping through a rundown and beaten door led out into the rooftop of her building and exposed her to the crisp night breeze that caressed her like a soothing hand. Assuring her that she didn't have to go anywhere she didn't want to.

She wanted to believe it.

Most of the roof was fenced off. All except for one spot. Everyone in her building knew about it. Nobody ever said anything. Deftly taking her shoes off, she let her toes curl against the cold concrete edge of the roof as she stepped up, phone in hand. Her eyes peered over the dark horizon to the rest of the city lit so beautifully at night by the many people still bustling at such late hour. Some were already resting like her parents and they'd be none the wiser if anything happened. Not even if it happened right under their noses.

 _Don't do this,_ she thought, a part of her desperately trying to take her away from the ledge, _it's safe now._

But it wasn't. They were back and they were searching.

"I don't want to go back…"

Home wasn't safe. School wasn't safe. Nowhere was safe.

The only place that was safe and quiet and _comforting_ was that darkness. Always the darkness.

"I won't go back."

Her foot slipped forward.

* * *

 **|Earlier that day|**

* * *

Awkward.

It fit but at the same time didn't. At least not in the current situation she was in. Because if anybody felt any awkwardness out of this sort of quiet, energetic morning, it surely wasn't Yori.

With it being the morning after the attack on USJ, there were no classes to be had. And since she had no shift today either, Nagi had the whole day to herself. Not the best of prospects with how uncomfortable she was feeling in her own home. She tried not to let it get to her, working on printing photo sets to distract herself while Yori busied themselves with breakfast. Seeing as it was an 'I'm sorry I ditched you last night after what happened at school' breakfast, Yori insisted on doing it all by themselves. Nagi didn't complain. Not when the last thing she wanted to do was look them in the eyes.

Damn guilt. It was kind of hard to describe. Almost like, well… A little like… Nagi supposed the fairest way to describe it was like it tore every intestine in her gut and twisted them into a neat mess of bows before shoving it down her throat.

...

 _Sounds about right._

Worst of all, she couldn't discern why. Figuring out that aside from having to deal with the insight from last night was too much to think about though. And since staying at home and spending time doing nothing wouldn't do her any good, Nagi spent the whole of her mostly sleepless night planning out the coming day.

 _No way am I thinking about anything with this masterpiece of a schedule._

"Food's ready!"

As Nagi left the door to her room ajar to hear the printer running, she watched Yori expertly maneuver their way out of the kitchen while handling two plates and glasses full of juice onto the dining table. Like a total pro, he set them down with ease producing the utensils and condiments from the pockets of his not-so-flattering apron. A chuckle escaped her at seeing them like that. Yori caught it and chortled before taking it off and hanging it on the back of the chair. Brandishing out his arm rather enthused, they stood proudly beside their work.

"So, what do you think?"

"Outdid yourself, Yori," she said. Her tone was a bit lackluster despite finding his little show off remark charming.

Though her dull reply dampened their mood a little, they still smiled as they pulled out her chair for her. Nagi took the offer gladly and both settled to share a rather normal thing between them. And yet, despite how wonderful their food really was, it tasted bland in her mouth. Nothing but tasteless clay. But she kept her thoughts to herself, not wanting to worsen the mood anymore than she already had. Especially with this being the last breakfast she'd get to have with Yori before he left. And who knew when they'd back.

So instead of saying anything, she let the disquieting silence come over them as they took to eating. Even Mi-chan ate, though Nagi doubted a cat would care about uncomfortable atmospheres. But the more she kept quiet, the more that unnamed feeling gnawed at her insides, twisting and turning every which way and telling her to say something. To talk to them.

 _Don't._

Heeding the voice for once, Nagi opted instead to turn on the small TV across the room in the living room. Though somewhat muffled and blurry at a distance, the pictures soon focused. Curious about the news, Nagi put up the volume and the reporter's voice invaded their dining room quick enough.

" _We return with a follow-up on yesterday's incident at the U.A. rescue training facility where hero course students were attacked by villains."_

"Garbage news." Yori reached out as he muttered that, taking the remote from her hand and switching the channel. The news depicting the USJ changed in the blink of an eye into a random variety show. Nagi frowned.

Turquoise eyes narrowed at them from across the table. With Yori leaving the remote to the side as he returned to eating, Nagi deftly snatched it back to change the channel back to the news.

" _Police have arrested 72 villains but they still don't know the whereabouts of their ringleader."_

"Nagi, we shouldn't—"

"You haven't said anything."

This time the awkwardness was tangible for even them. She had no idea what possessed her to say it but Nagi was glad it came out. Frankly, fighting with them about this was a thousand times better than talking about what she's began uncovering the night before without them. Though she didn't say anything aside from that, Yori seemed to get exactly what she was talking about. Their golden gaze lowered as they laid their fork against the mostly full plate.

"I didn't think you'd want to be barraged with questions." Leaning their chin into their open palm, they stared off into the screen as the news ran on with a lowered volume by her hand. Completely veering their gaze from meeting hers.

Her lips pursed tightly together. "Maybe not but a text would've been nice. An 'are you okay?' would've gone a damn long way coming from you."

"I didn't think you needed something like that."

"That's not the point," her voice turned somber and her eyes narrowed on Yori, finding their nonchalance disquieting. She tired fast from beating around the bush. "Just tell me this; yesterday when you were nagging me to stay was it because you knew something would happen at Yuuei?"

She was treading into muddy territory with her accusations. Nagi knew this. But at that point, she couldn't simply dismiss his strange behavior of the day before and his insistence for her to miss class as anything other than suspicious. They remained silent, but that they neither denied nor comfirmed her accusations set major red flags off for her. Especially because she knew that kind of people and the extremes they were prone to taking. Grunting, Nagi slammed an open hand on the table, the cutlery rattling with the force of the hit.

"Damn it, Yori, we agreed not to hurt people that weren't involved."

"No, you thought up that stupid rule on your own," he contested.

 _Unbelievable_. "And you agreed to it. I told you that I would do this so long as we went after the beneficiaries—the ones who helped him that never got caught, remember?"

Yori scowled. Their lips turned down in a way that distorted their usual serene and easy-going expression into something resembling irritation. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, darling, but I'm not like you. I'm not some goody-two-shoes who does what we do and then tries hiding it to 'fit in' with her new clique of friends."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me." They scoffed, their canines showing from how wide their smirk got. "Who are you even kidding? You agreed with me that we're the ones in the right. But like a damn hypocrite, you think you can do all that we have and just sweep it under a rug to posture yourself like some saint."

Nagi grinded her teeth, finding it harder and harder to keep her temper under check. But Yori dealt pretty quickly with whatever modicum of restraint she had left in one blow.

"Besides, what difference does it make who gets hurt so long as we get what we want?"

She slammed her hands on the table, somehow getting the room itself to shake and the screech of her chair as Nagi shot out of her seat startling Mi-chan. The poor cat scrammed out as fast as it could from under the table, scurrying away from the fight that was quickly escalating.

"It makes a difference because it's not right!"

"And why the hell do you care about what's right now after all we've already done!?"

" **Because it's not what a hero would do!"**

For a long moment, Nagi scowled, eyes narrowed at him. It wasn't until she processed what she'd said that her turquoise eyes widened. Yori's golden gaze narrowed and unlike hers, didn't falter. But taking it in stride faster than she did, Yori took the last jab on the argument. Scoffing, his eyes became cold and distant as the corners of his lips turned into a wry grin.

"And what a fucking relief too. 'Cause you and I both know we weren't made to be heroes anyway."

 _Enough_.

Nagi shoved away the half-eaten plate of food and stormed out of the dining room to her room. She didn't bother closing her door and let her mounting rage fuel her. Quickly snatching up her bag and throwing the flap open, she haphazardly tossed in what she needed before running out of her room. Not bothering to see if Yori was still there or not, she grabbed her keys and took off, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Brilliant rays of sunlight poured in through the spread out windows of the train. The shadows casted cut through the light whenever poles dashed by or when they passed through a small tunnel. With the car she was in so well lit, Nagi didn't have much trouble rifling through her bag to fish out the many photos she had so carelessly tossed inside. Finding them in her bag was the easy part though.

The train rode smoothly on its tracks. It was going at such a steady pace that it was practically impossible to feel it when onboard. The same couldn't be said about pieces of relatively flat paper. Pictures she separated into stack onto the empty seat beside her quivered like some hairless animal during winter as the train ran on. Nagi needed only to take away her eyes for one second and the next, she'd find the once neat stacks she formed scattered across the seat. Some precariously close to falling over it.

It certainly didn't help separate them into the piles she needed them in.

 _What a hassle._

Thumbing through one stack as she held the other two between her legs, Nagi counted it once more to make sure the number of photos in the stack was right. Fifty-two—all of them with a red mark on the back right corner. Nagi sighed in relief; thank goodness she labeled them. It would've taken forever otherwise. Or at least far longer than the hour it took to find fifty-two pictures out of the many that she threw into her bag without even looking. But that's what she got for storming off.

Recalling what happened only a few hours ago lit back up the annoyance she'd set aside during the ride so far. Huffing, Nagi shoved the stack inside an envelope, the paper bulging a bit from the thickness of it. After a little trouble, she managed to close the envelope and put a small sticker over the seal on the back. Nagi made a mental note to buy more after a quick glance at her mostly finished sticker page and neatly placed it and the finished envelope back inside the bag. Since there was still a good half hour to go, Nagi busied herself with perusing through the other photos she still had.

She only needed the ones for the envelope but since she'd neglected to clean her memory— _again_ —and since she was too lazy that morning to pick and choose the handful out of three hundred images she had, Nagi printed them all instead. She did most of the work the night before with only some unmarked leftover. Still, it was a wonder how she didn't run out of ink faster. Her thumb carded through each photo giving it a brief glance before going on to the next.

Some were good to sell off. Pictures of heroes always brought a nice sum. Especially when sold to the right person. Sceneries of the school and the city were good too. Maybe they'd go up on her wall. But as she carded through the bunch, she inevitably found some that she forgot she ever took.

There were a few of her teachers during lessons, oblivious to her lens shuttering away. A couple of Aizawa in his headache-inducing, bright yellow sleeping bag during the few times he'd falling asleep after finishing homeroom early.

And then there were those that tugged at the corners of her lips. Each an instance captured perfectly.

One of Kirishima and Sero waving with grins on their faces and Kaminari, Toru, Mina, and somehow Aoyama popping in at odd angles to fit into the picture; those four basically bombed what could've been a nice photo. But she supposed they made it a little better with what quirkiness they threw in. Another of the girls in the cafeteria; oblivious as could be, Ochako drank her smoothie away, pinkies pointed outward as she delighted in the treat. Tsuyu smiled, her cheeks blushing a bit maybe surprised by the photo but not against it being taken. Another of Bakugou going off on Midoriya behind him when the latter took a nanosecond too long to take a handout and Yohsei's ears perking up at the ruckus behind him. Many others of things she caught and taken from afar. Things she just couldn't let her pass by. Things she didn't want to forget about.

All little moments that Nagi didn't remember taking.

But she had.

They were there, heavy in her hands. And that proved they happened. Even if she couldn't remember anymore, those times were forever frozen perfectly still. And the funniest part was that she didn't realize when she had even started doing it.

Some kind of warmth snuck into her chest, swelling it more and more with every photo she carded through. Soon a small smile reached her lips, turquoise eyes glinting at each one.

Then she found one of All Might. Of one of the few times he gave them a proper albeit short lecture before heading out for hero basics. Seeing his imposing figure after what happened brought the harrowing question from the night before back to the forefront of her mind.

Wanting to be a hero—and more specifically, a hero like All Might—had been a dream of hers when little. It was where that giddiness and passion from before came from. Back then she dreamed of being a hero who wouldn't falter, who wouldn't be afraid. A strong hero who wouldn't let others down. One who saved everybody, even those in the worst of places. But all that thinking hauled to the spotlight the one question that begged to be answered: could she even become something like that?

Nagi sulked, sinking lower into her seat as the train stopped. Watching the people file out as the doors opened served little to draw her attention away from her overbearing doubt though. Nagi, wanting to dispel those thoughts as soon as humanly possible, went through her mind for answers.

 _C'mon, Nagi. Think for once._

She got into Yuuei, hadn't she? Alright, sure. But just because she could do something didn't mean she should do it. Many could study their butts off and get strong enough to pass a test like Yuuei's. But just because she was in, didn't mean she had what it took to be a hero. That was something pretty much in the air. At least for her.

"' _Cause you and I both know that we weren't made to be heroes anyway."_

Yori wasn't wrong. In fact, there was a lot of truth in his words. She hated to admit that. She knew there were lots of things she needed to work on. _And maybe if I work hard enough…_

Contradictions ravaged each other in her head as her mind and heart duked it out, wanting desperately to figure who was in the right and who wasn't. But thinking about it alone made it worse and it certainly got her no closer to a real answer. A headache brewed after twenty minutes of thinking and hinted at her that perhaps mulling over this wouldn't do much.

 _Maybe if I talk about it with someone..._

No. Out of the question. There was no way she could talk about this to someone...

…and even if she wanted to, who was she supposed to go to?

The few people she felt mildly comfortable confiding in all had some bias where this inner conundrum of hers was concerned. Yori was usually the default but in this particular topic, they were the last person she wanted to talk to. Suzume briefly came to her mind but just as quickly disappeared. Nagi didn't trust her not make a mountain out of this molehill. Aizawa? _Hell. No._

Overhead, they announced the next station. Arrival: five minutes. Her phone beeped with the reminder she had put before. Next one was her stop.

Nagi groaned.

Everything in her mind was a jumbled mess. Conflicting past and current ideas struggled to be heard above the rest. The noise only made everything blurrier and harder to discern. What was good? What was bad? What mattered? What didn't.

All of it scattered pieces of a puzzle that despite making a whole didn't quite fit together.

" _You'll be okay."_

Turquoise eyes narrowed when one person in particular came to mind, her soft and gentle voice quieting the ruckus in her head. The ding of the train and the announcement of the station it stopped at brought her attention up to the opening doors. Mindlessly walking out, Nagi stopped when she spotted a map of the train's route. Her eyes went wide at reading the next scheduled stop, the woman's voice returning faintly from the alcoves of her mind.

" _But if you ever need someone to just chat with, I'll gladly welcome you with open arms."_

With a ding, the train's doors started closing. Panic set her off and Nagi whirled about, trying her best not to stumble too much on her feet as she ran back into the train. A high-pitched squeak escaped her as she barely managed to squeeze herself through the closing doors. An alarm went off but stopped soon enough before speakers related a message to be mindful of the doors as they closed before the train began to move.

Preferring to stand, Nagi held onto the handles above as the noise of the speakers sounded off above her. But she paid little attention to them now. She knew exactly where she was going.

"Next stop: Shizuoka Station."

* * *

 _Her body hurt. Beaten. Exhausted. But none of that held a candle to how badly her poor heart was hurting._

 _She furiously wiped the tears that streamed down her cheeks as she rushed through white halls, dodging in between patients and staff alike. Behind her giving chase were strangers, staff from the hospital that called out for her to stop. But she didn't want to. She wanted to run far, far,_ far _away from it all because it couldn't be true._

 _It just can't be._

 _Skidding around a corner and almost falling face first didn't deter Nagi from picking up speed. She needed to find a way out-or just to get away. Grabbing ahold of the medicine stand not far ahead, she pulled it down behind her. The many instruments and medicine crashed and rattled to the floor and the stand itself bounced a few inches off the ground from the force. A hindrance to slow them down and give her time._

 _Nagi turned more and more corners and found herself down the end of a hallway where a heavy door stood. But no matter how many times she pushed it, it wouldn't budge. Locked off, she whirled around to find another way out but stopped short when the voices of the staff started coming closer. She turned to the few doors there and panickedly rummaged the handles of each door until one gave. Pushing through the heavy door, Nagi didn't give any thought to anything else as her wide eyes scoured for somewhere to hide. Almost immediately, they fell on a large wardrobe just behind the door. Scrambling to it and prying the doors open, she pushed aside the clothes neatly folded inside to make space for herself before closing the doors from the inside._

 _Her hands came up to cover her mouth and nose, trying to calm her hectic breathing as best she could. But it was hard. She wanted to cry. But it hitched and stopped completely at the sound of the door opening and footsteps coming into the room._

" _Is something the matter?"_

 _A gentle voice called above the noise of their heavy steps upon tile and their shoes squeaked to a stop as they turned to the woman who'd asked that. Through the slanted gaps of the wardrobe, Nagi could only see their moving silhouettes as the fluorescent lighting of the room outlined their bodies._

 _The ones she assumed her pursuers took a moment to catch their breaths. "We're sorry about the disturbance but a patient has ran off. A girl. About eleven, short pink hair and blue eyes. Did you see her by any chance?"_

 _A moment of dreadful silence followed that stopped Nagi's heart briefly. Then the woman spoke._

" _Sorry, I haven't seen any children around here."_

 _Her eyes widened. Not even their hurried footsteps took away the shock from what the woman said. Stillness that spread across the room broke as a quiet stride made its way to her, their shadow covering the white light from filtering in through the slits of the wardrobe. With a click of a lock and the creaky swing of white wood doors, the wardrobe was opened by a woman who smiled down at Nagi. A halo of fluorescent light outlined her and her long white hair shone faintly in an almost translucent silver. On a pale face barely showing any sign of age a tight lipped smile formed as dark eyes reminiscent of somber clouded days regarded her in her hiding spot._

" _They're gone now." Her voice not that much more than a quiet whisper was even gentler than before. "You can come out if you want. It must be pretty cramped in there."_

 _Nagi didn't respond. Fear froze her in place. Don't be fooled, her mind chided, don't trust her._

 _But it was hard. The woman looked like her mom but was also different. Like everything was a color dimmer but still the same. Everything except her eyes; instead of bright turquoise like her own, the woman's were a dark gray. But despite the familiarity, she forced herself to listen to her mind._

 _She couldn't trust her. No matter how much like her mother she appeared. She couldn't afford to._

" _What's your name?"_

 _Nothing_

" _Must've been tiresome running from them."_

 _Silence._

 _The woman pursed her lips, her thin smile never disappearing, and she bent forward closer to the opened closet. Nagi sank back scurrying as far into the closet as it let her. As far away from her as she could._

 _Don't trust her. Don't do it._

 _The woman's hand reached out and Nagi shut her eyes tight at seeing it-_

 _Until it gently laid in her head to stroke it. She lifted her head practically snapping it upright from the shock, her heart beating rapidly but more confused than anything._

 _Why was she being so kind?_

 _The woman's hand fondly stroke the top of her head and then took her cheek gently in the palm of it._

 _Cold, Nagi thought. She felt cold._

" _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you more." her hand remained on her cheek, the cold soothing the aching there. "It's okay to stay here if you feel safe. I won't tell."_

 _Her hand moved away and Nagi's eyes went wide. Where her hand had been suddenly felt odd._

 _Empty._

" _I'll be here if you need anything-"_

 _Her words stopped in her throat when Nagi's small, scarred hand stuck out and gripped her sleeve tightly._

 _There wasn't a sound for a moment. Then quiet sobs escaped her until she couldn't contain herself any longer. Heartfelt cries erupted from her louder than she imagined they could. Nagi wiped at her eyes incessantly and held the woman's sleeve like an anchor with the other, but no matter how many times she wiped them away, they sprouted anew. Endlessly. Just like the vast sadness that anchored itself in her heart and made it so hard to breathe._

 _The woman stood there, awkwardly bent but not caring in the slightest. She continued to stroke Nagi's head, carding her fingers through choppy strands of short hair as she slowly brought her closer to lend her a shoulder to cry on._

 _And she did._

 _She cried and cried and cried until the tears dried and numbed some of the pain. One that came from knowing that in this world she was truly and utterly alone._

* * *

Shizuoka was different from how Nagi remembered it. Guess living there for only a few years left a rather unimpressionable memory in her mind. Then again, she rarely left her grandparents' home during those days. But it was still gorgeous.

Trees shaded the road she walked on, shielding her from the warm rays. Her eyes trained on the scuffs of her blue shoes as she kicked pebbles out of the way before coming up to the scenery before her. Midday seemed to be a rowdy time of the day there. Nagi didn't think she was too far off from the center of town but even with that distance crowds still bustled through the sidewalk to find their way. Dodging out of theirs, Nagi swiftly made her way up the hill from where her cab left her. If she recalled correctly, the hospital wasn't much further. An uncontrollable itch grew beneath her skin and crawled at the mere thought of the place. The thought of any hospital got her palms clammy and the hairs on her arms and neck stand on end. They were nothing but heavily bleached and sterile nests of whiteness.

It turned her stomach imagining it now.

But this is where that woman was as far as Nagi knew. And though she wasn't so sure that was 100% true after three years, it was the only place she knew of to find her. That she could only recall her first name would only get her so far too. If worse came to be, she might need to improvise.

The gigantic edifice that came into view as she met the horizon over the hill sent a chill down Nagi's back. Her footsteps slowed down as she passed the opened gates but stopped completely at the entrance. Heart beating fast, Nagi could hear her eardrums throbbing from the blood rushing through. Could hear how ragged her breath was becoming. Felt her hands shaking, unable to even lift them to open a simple door.

 _Open the damn door._

Taking a sharp breath, she spun on her heels and gave the hospital doors her back. Ready to book it out of there, she stopped again when she spotted the trail to the side rounding about the building. Leading to the back garden. More comfortable with that than entering the hospital itself, Nagi sauntered down the small trail. Some patients roamed about but they, along with the guards scattered about, paid little to no attention to her as she found herself in the massive back garden of the hospital. The colors and cool scents that bloomed everywhere washed over her like a massive wave of freshness. The scent opened her tightening chest and throat making it a little easier to breathe. Feeling a tiny bit more relaxed, Nagi aimlessly followed the intertwining paths of the garden, fishing her phone out and switching to her camera. Shame she forgot her actual one. This garden was stunning. She'd forgotten just how beautiful and calming it was. Or maybe she just hadn't really appreciated it before. When Suzume told her it was for therapeutic purposes, Nagi hadn't a clue how a bunch of flowers, trees, and pretty fountains helped anybody.

Now it made more sense why.

 _It's so easy to breathe here._

Nagi made her way snapping pictures here and there while her mind scampered to take in every detail to judge for the best angle.

The garden wasn't anything luxurious. Embellished sounded right but it wasn't too over the top either. But by the looks of it, if there was anything the staff didn't procrastinate on, it was keeping this place in good shape. Topiaries stood tall and freshly trimmed. Countless flower beds spread all around gave the place a more vivid and livelier appearance. What stood out most to her back then and even now was the fountain that sat in the middle of the courtyard. A circular pebbled path surrounded it and led away to different areas of the garden where different displays rested. What caught her attention most were the wooden benches she remembered all around the place. Nagi's nose scrunched at the sight of them repainted that ugly dull green again. Walking up to one and taking a sit, her eyes veered every which way until they came to the bed of hydrangeas sitting to one side of it. Nagi slid over to them and looked down for a moment before lifting her gaze.

The fountain with its stone koi fish squirted water out at a strange angle from where she sat. The door leading back into the hospital was far to her left and away from her sight. A bed of hydrangeas sat to her right just over the armrest. So close, in fact, that if she let her arm fall to the side, the many blossoms fell quaintly into her open hand and softly brushed against her palm.

This was her spot. Where she used to come to be away from the hospital's blinding whiteness that reminded her so much of that place. Where she came to get away and see some color. And where she came to rip it away.

Nagi closed her grasp on the hydrangea blossoms, debating whether or not to tear them off their stems like she used to when little. Her tightening grasp stopped short when a nippy breeze brushed against her other arm.

"You've grown so much I almost didn't recognize you."

Letting go of the flowers, turquoise eyes met dark brooding grays framed by long white hair. Nagi smiled as she turned to the one that took the seat beside her, a soft sigh escaping through her nose.

"Hey, Rei-san. Long time no see."

Rei smiled in kind, warm and familiar.

"It's so nice to see you again, Nagi-chan."

* * *

It baffled Nagi how normal it felt to talk to Rei. Almost as if they hadn't lost contact at all in the last three years. But they had. It certainly showed as they took to walking around the garden chatting away about what they missed in those past years. And after noticing that the conversation might last longer than she first anticipated, Rei laid a gentle hand on Nagi's back to stop her.

"How about we continue this in my room?" Lifting her gaze, Nagi couldn't help but look immediately away from the imposing vibe the hospital gave off. Noticing this, Rei rubbed her back and took Nagi's arm to place it through hers, making it easier to hold her hand safely in her own.

"It's alright. I promise it's not as scary as you remember it."

Chuckling at how Rei so easily shooed her anxiety away, Nagi took one deep breath to relax before Rei took them inside the building. Curiously enough, the scent of antiseptic wasn't as strong as she remembered. It was there, but more like a lingering scent in the background that only slightly tingled her nose. The place was still terribly bleak; some paintings that hung on the walls did give it a little bit of color. A tiny bit of life. It made her wonder how long those had been there and how on earth she missed them before. A little bit more at ease, Nagi let Rei guide her back to her room. Nagi, too preoccupied with surveying what had been a home for the better part of a year and see what else had changed, paid little attention to where they were going. It wasn't until they arrived at Rei's room and Nagi opened the door for her that she caught a glance of the nameplate beside her door.

Turquoise eyes widened at the name written in fine black letters upon the white rectangular plate. The gears in her head stammered a bit at what she read. It wasn't until Rei called her out from inside that Nagi broke out of her daze.

"Are you coming, Nagi-chan?"

Nagi held her tongue not sure of what to say at first. So many questions came to mind. But curious as she was, she didn't want to be insensitive. Needing a little bit of time to think, Nagi chuckled, feet fidgeting beneath her as she took a step back and pointed behind her with her thumb. "I'm actually thirsty. Is the machine down the hall still there?" Rei nodded. Taking that for what it was worth, she took a few hops back never once letting her smile falter. "Great! I'll go get something real quick. You want anything, Rei-san?"

"Oh." Rei placed a finger on her chin, "Green tea is fine."

With a nod, Nagi let the door close behind her as she rushed halfway across the hall to the vending machine there. She quickly paid and selected their drinks; green tea and strawberry yogurt. But as the bottles took painstakingly long to dispense, Nagi's foot tapped against the floor and her her hands shoved into her pockets. The quiet droning of the machine zoned her out fast enough. Her mind was much more preoccupied with the name she'd seen on the nameplate beside Rei's room after all.

Todoroki Rei.

Instantly, the face of her bichromatic classmate came to mind. No wonder he seemed familiar. Well, one part of him anyway. But that didn't convince her. Just because they looked similar and shared a name, didn't tell her much aside from the fact that they were related. Nagi forced herself to think. Rei had talked very little about her family during the year Nagi was interned there. Whatever she did say was vague at best. Not to mention that she had already forgotten much of those days.

 _Not everything though._

She recalled an afternoon after physical therapy the gentle feel of Rei's fingers carding through her hair, soothing her riled mind from the day's stress. _"You know, you remind me of my youngest son."_

 _"Really? How?"_

 _"Well, let me think. You're both sweet. Kind. And also very smart. Though maybe you're a little bit more blunt than my Shouto."_

Shouto. _Well, that settles that then._

Made sense in the context of his ice Quirk too. Must've come from her. But figuring that out brought up something else: the somberness hidden behind Rei's smile when she had asked her when he'd be visiting. It wasn't clear to her why—it still wasn't now that she thought about it— but judging by her own recollection, it wasn't anything pretty.

The bottles fell with heavy thuds and swiftly snapped Nagi out of her train of thought. Taking them in hand and running back to the room, she took a long breath before walking in with a smile as she lifted the bottles to show Rei. The smile she reciprocated with was so different from the glum one Nagi remembered from back then. And since the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Rei, it'd be best to let the issue die there. It wasn't any of her business anyway.

 _Guess bringing Todoroki up is out of the question then._

She let the thought of him vanish with all the other things in her mind and instead let herself enjoy a few more hours with Rei. Hours they spent idly chatting. It worked well to distract her from her problems. And after not seeing Rei for so long, there was a lot to talk about. Likewise, the older woman seemed pleased to have someone to spend time with. By the time Nagi started on school and the hero course her hands were already rifling through her bag for the leftover pictures. Sifting through them to pick and choose which to show her didn't take long either.

Good thing for her that Todoroki seemed rather camera shy.

An airy chuckle left Rei as Nagi passed another one her way. It'd been right after one of their heroics exercises. Bakugou had somehow blown up part of the building during a lesson on de-escalation. The sight of him throwing a fit after being docked a chunk of points for that stunt was too good to pass on. Nagi spared Rei some of those details, opting instead to say it'd ended on that particular team covered in soot from head to toe.

"You seem to be having so much fun with your friends. Not to mention that the hero course must be exciting."

Nagi's wide smiled shrunk visibly and she shrugged her shoulders. Sitting across the bed where Rei sat, she crossed her ankles as she laid back on the stool she sat on, her arms holding her steady on the small seat. Her eyes veered towards the window in the room to watch the afternoon sun shining at its peak in the sky and soon to start its slow descent.

"It's alright."

"Nagi-chan." Turquoise eyes peeled away from the sky to meet the eye of the storm that were Rei's. She lowered the photos to her lap, locking her gaze with Nagi's instead. "Is everything alright?"

For some reason, even her gentle gaze became unnerving with those words behind them. Nagi bit down on the empty bottle of yogurt between her teeth, the plastic edge denting under the pressure.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Rei took a moment. She seemed lost in some thought that darkened the glint in her gray eyes. It made her words hit harder than Nagi expected them to.

"When we think that saying a lie enough times might make it true, it becomes somewhat easier to tell it, doesn't it?"

"I'm not lying." A piece of the plastic rim cut off from how hard she bit down.

"I'll tell you a secret, Nagi-chan. After doing something yourself for so long, it's rather easy to spot it when others do it too." Rei's smile lost a little of its edge, her small dimple disappearing as it turned to a smaller, tight-lipped one. "And believe me, telling yourself that everything's alright won't make it true if it isn't."

Instead of replying, Nagi played with the bottle, flipping it up and down with her teeth. But the silence that came over them left her nothing else to do. Talking to someone about things was what she wanted. And yet when the chance came up, she refused to take it. Nagi beat herself up, unable to make up her mind. It wasn't until she met those concerned gray eyes once more that a chuckle escaped her and it got made up for her.

 _When did she become so pushy?_

"I'm...having some doubts."

"Doubts?"

Her gaze went to the window once more to watch the boundless blue sky outside this cramped room.

"About what it means to be a hero. And if I can even be one."

Rei hung her head pensively. Thumbs twirled against each other over the stack of pictures she still held in her hands. Nagi looked back to watch her diligently, curious at what her answer could be. What it could give her. Finally, Rei raised her eyes to meet hers and Nagi waited with bated breath.

"What makes you think you can't?"

She averted her gaze again. "I don't know. Doesn't feel right to me for some reason."

"Mm." Rei held her chin between dainty fingers. But as she thought of what to say, Nagi couldn't help notice the sudden melancholy that obscured her eyes and how that twisted her gut with a mere glance. This time when she spoke, Rei did so in a much quieter voice. Almost restrained.

"Nagi, do you _want_ to be a hero?"

Her brow furrowed at the query. What kind of question was that? Scratch that, it was a stupid question, that's what. Of course not. The only reason she even applied to any hero course was to further her and Yori's goal. To make it easier to chase after. For them to make and have their due justice. But despite how strongly she felt about it, the word just wouldn't come out.

Nagi couldn't say no.

But it didn't feel right to say yes either.

Whatever impeded her from making up her mind got her to clutch at the spot over her heart and feel it wildly beating at the question. She tried sifting through the range of things she felt rushing through her: excitement, dread, elation, nerves. All emotions that she couldn't place but didn't want to let go of.

Stuck, Nagi answered the best way she could think.

"I...I'm not sure." Nagi reached to rub at the back of her neck wanting to dispel the cold bite she'd felt out of the blue. Cold and electric. Like a mild shock.

"Then maybe that's a good place to start, don't you think?" Though some of that somberness remained in her eyes, Rei's smile returned.

"Regardless of what I want or not, I'd rather know beforehand what I'm getting myself into."

"Well, I don't think there's a clear cut definition to what being a hero means, but I believe they represent different things to different people. Perhaps figuring out what it means to you might help."

"Easier said than done."

"Actually might be simpler than you're making it out to be," Rei pointed out. "Maybe starting somewhere simpler than that is best."

"What's simpler than a yes or no question?"

Rei mused over her question for a moment. "Maybe why you would want to be one, for example."

Her turquoise eyes went wide.

 _Why I want to be a hero?_

She almost wanted to respond with the same thing she always did—that it was for her and Yori—but before she could let out a single syllable, Rei held out the stack of pictures she'd been holding onto. The sudden surprise lodged whatever Nagi had been about to say in her throat. She blinked at the stack before blinking up at Rei.

Her gray eyes briefly glanced at the clock in the room and at seeing the hour, she stood to give her the pictures herself. Nagi followed her lead, still taken aback by being stopped mid thought, and easily took the pictures as she stood herself. Feeling the heaviness of the photos in hand brought Nagi out of her stupor. With a deep breath, she shelved the question to the back of her mind but close enough to reach.

She'd take the advice for once. She'd let herself think about it.

Nagi smiled at the older woman, her hands clutching tightly the stack of pictures close to her chest.

"Thanks, Rei-san."

"Of course." Rei cradled Nagi's free hand in hers, her cool hands soothing the uneasy warmth that crawled underneath her skin. "I'm glad you came too. I've missed having you around. But I'm also glad you didn't stay here for long."

Nagi waited until Rei released her before reaching down for her bag, the soothing coolness remaining even after she let go. Her lips curled up a little into a wry grin as she adjusted the strap over her head and placed the pictures inside. "Is it alright if I come back to visit again."

"It'd be lovely to have you back again."

Her chest swelled, elated at having someone like Rei despite the time they'd been apart. Despite having met her during a rather bad part of her life, Rei had treated her kindly all the same. Like she was her own kid. Something Nagi had sorely needed back then.

 _I forgot how much she reminds me of mom._

Nodding and feeling a little lighter than before, Nagi turned over her shoulder to Rei as she pushed the door open and shared a wide grin with her.

"I'll bring more pictures next time then!"

* * *

" _She shouldn't be here."_

" _This is her home."_

" _It most certainly is not!"_

 _Porcelain crashed onto the floor, the grating noise shaking Nagi down to her bones. The thin paper screen did nothing to muffle the sound, much less keep their growing argument from spreading through the vast house her grandparents called home. For as big as it was, though, it felt nothing like home to her. To Nagi, home was her mom and dad and Yuuta. It was all of them together in the house her father had bought half rotten and rebuilt from the ground up. That was home. But all the cruel reminder did was leave her wanting nothing of it. Home wasn't home without them. And now alone, Nagi had no choice but to come to this household. One she barely knew anything about and where she clearly wasn't wanted._

" _Mother, don't do this. Neither you nor father have an obligation to care for the child."_

" _She's our granddaughter, Yukiko. Not to mention the horrible nightmare she went through." Her grandmother took a long drawn out sigh. "No matter how much you resented your brother, we cannot abandon her. She needs us."_

" _And we needed Hiroyuki when he left us too! He left us first, mother, what about that don't you get? Father, please, make her understand!"_

 _Nagi waited in the glum silence that settled after her aunt spoke. Quiet as it was, she heard her grandfather inhale before a throaty cough ruptured from his chest. It reminded Nagi of the roars of monsters, grumbling deep in their throat as they readied to pounce._

" _We will care for the girl. We are her legal guardians now, and as such, we will do what is expected of us regardless of his past transgressions."_

" _But father—!"_

" _That will be enough from you."_

 _The piercing strike of his cane on the ground sent chills down Nagi's spine and she gripped at the skirts of her dress until her knuckles turned white. Another bout of coughing struck the air._

 _A warning growl._

" _We will not sully our name any further by sending a child off to fend for herself. We all will tend to her. And Yukiko, should I remind you whose roof you live under?" A cold silence replaced his raspy tenor voice for a moment before a reserved 'no' rose just above a whisper, clearly audible through the deafening silence. A rather smaller and much quieter rumble came from his chest as he fought back another fit. "Then let us not fret about this matter any longer. The child is part of this family, regardless of her parentage or Hiroyuki's impudence."_

" _Your father's right, Yuki. We have already lost enough."_

 _Not wanting to hear anymore of this, Nagi rose her to her feet. Quietly as she could, she made her way back to what was now her room. It was big. Certainly bigger than her old room. But it was empty of anything that had been hers. Her bed had been replaced with a futon. The little desk and chair her father made for her birthday were gone. The mismatched tea set her mother bought over the years for her wasn't there. Her grandparents hadn't bothered with keeping anything from her old home._

 _Of anything that would remind her of them._

 _Scurrying across the old wooden floor to where her futon laid, Nagi pulled out the All Might plush from where she hid it beneath the thick covers. Suzume had delivered it to her grandmother a few days after she'd been placed with them. Said she thought Nagi would like it back. But her aunt Yukiko had stormed in and snatched it from her grandmother's hands, spatting out hateful words that Nagi covered her ears to as she watched from around the corner. After Suzume left, Nagi found Yukiko tearing her plush apart, nails digging into every possible seam before tossing it in the garbage._

 _That night, Nagi snuck out to retrieve it before it got lost. But what she held in her hands didn't resemble her beloved hero one bit. She cried herself to sleep that night holding the mess of limbs and stuffing._

 _What she held in her hands now was what she woke up to a couple of mornings after. Its missing eye replaced with a black button. The tears and limbs sewn back together. What little bit of stuffing she'd recovered inside it, leaving the toy emaciated but still whole._

 _It had been through a lot and it might not have looked like the plush she remembered, but it was with her at least._

 _A little piece of her old life. Of what used to be home._

 _A home that she couldn't return to because it no longer existed._

* * *

The tiny pebble bounced some ways down the road, her blue shoes kicking up dirt along with the small stone and scuffing the white soles in the process. Nagi paid no mind to them. The sun as it began its descent veiling everything in a hue of orange, red, and gold took most of that as she made her way back to the train station. Or she was supposed to at least. But going back to the apartment after the scuffle she had with Yori made her greatly uncomfortable. Nagi hated being at odds with them but that didn't mean that Yori didn't get on her nerves from time to time. Especially with how negative they were being. Or maybe that was just how they'd always been and she just didn't bother giving it any attention. Regardless of the reason, not wanting to return just yet got her wondering around the small part of the prefecture she was a little bit more familiar with.

The houses around the area were much bigger than those around the city. Almost minituature mansions in their own way. Many were walled off from one another, their owners preferring their privacy and security despite already being in a safe neighborhood as it was. Unlike the somewhat cracked and busy roads of the city, the avenues here where small one-way roads edged by beaten dirt and pebbles. Riverbanks nearby could be heard nearby, the soothing sound of rushing water reaching her ears as a low hum. Dogwood trees rose high above the roads and houses, their white blossoms billowing in the air whenever a soft breeze blew.

So beautiful and alien. Like she had never lived there at all.

Nagi wondered about the reason why she couldn't recall her time there. Had she blocked off those few years after what happened or was it just her faulty memory? Honestly, despite her usual choice being the latter, either sounded plausible to her.

The beeping of her phone stopped Nagi under the shade of one of the dogwood trees. An alarm stared back at her from the dimly lit screen, the message reminding her that another train had departed from the station. After that one, there'd be two more that could take her home.

Keeping that at the back of her mind, Nagi was about to pocket her phone when she lifted her eyes and realized exactly where she was. There, just across the street, stood her grandparents' home. She didn't need to see the name on the outside of the gates to know that. Nagi had learned it from her own home by heart by the time she turned three: Chitanko Household. Leaning back into the shade casted by the swaying branches above her, she contemplated from afar the house she'd been thrusted into not long after being released from the hospital. One she left but some months ago. Despite that, it was still a foreign place to her. A place she never felt comfortable in. And where most hadn't wanted her at.

The soft clinking of wind chimes spread across the air as another breeze went by. Through the white petals peppering her vision and slatted gates, Nagi watched as an old lady walked out of the enormous house to sit at the porch of her yard. Nagi, phone still in hand, poised it towards the gate and zoomed in to get a clearer view. The old lady was having her afternoon tea from the looks of it. Lemon balm, Nagi guessed.

 _Old Gin did always like her lemon balm._

Tapping the screen captured the frame just as her grandmother raised the cup to her lips with steam from the cup floating into the air.

"What are you doing here?"

Letting out an unflattering squawk, Nagi scrambled to catch her phone before it hit the floor when it slipped out of her hands. A sigh of relief escaped her as she caught it just before it hit the ground. Finally securing it let her stand up to meet a pair of familiar mismatched eyes that stared aloofly her way.

A lopsided grin came to her lips as she jestfully saluted him with a couple of her fingers. "Heya, Todoroki."

Despite his expression being as aloof as any other time, Nagi could see mild annoyance glinting in those stormy and seaglass eyes of his. Ignoring that like she always did, Nagi looked him over from head to toe. Though she somewhat got used to walking home with Midoriya, with Ochako and Iida as recent additions, it was admittedly still eerie to meet her classmates outside of school. She mindlessly chewed her gum and eyed him from head to toe again, noticing first and foremost the paper bag he carried in his arms full to the brim with groceries.

"What are you doing?" he repeated, brow furrowing together to show some semblance of ire at last.

Blowing up a small bubble till it popped, Nagi didn't miss a beat. "On a stroll."

"You don't live here."

"Not up here, I don't." The eyebrow he raised got her grinning from ear to ear as she shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned to one side. "I live in the sewers with the reptile people!"

Todoroki just barely held off rolling his eyes at her, the smallest of exasperated sighs leaving him as he ignored her and instead stepped up to open the gates to his house. Nagi watched from her place a few feet away, intent on letting their conversation die there when the low roar of an engine coming from behind her caught her attention. The car that rode up the street slowed down as Nagi turned to it before parking across the street at her grandparents house. Any and all curiosity of who was visiting them disappeared and turned into panic when her aunt exited the driver's side.

 _Shit._

Though she harbored no ill will against any of them and what they showed in return for her was apathy at best, Nagi knew one thing for sure. Her aunt Yukiko could not stand her. It always seemed that the mere sight of her disgusted her aunt. And she frankly couldn't care any less about finding out why. But knowing Yukiko would throw one of her legendary fits if she saw her anywhere near that house, Nagi opted to take a shortcut.

"'Scuse me! Coming through."

"What are you—"

Ignoring Todoroki's protests, she squeezed her way through the gate he was about to close behind himself. It was clearer than day now that he wasn't having any of it, but she dismissed his rare display of emotion to watch the car through the slatted gates. Her aunt walked up to the gates to open them and without any preamble rode the car inside, not bothering to look back as they closed behind her. Thank goodness she didn't notice her.

Breathing a sigh of relief with that nutcase out of view, Nagi spun on her heels to meet the rather peeved look on Todoroki's face.

"Leave."

"Will do." Nagi blew another bubble as she pointed back with her thumb. "Just not that way."

"I'm not tolerating your jokes today, Chitanko. Leave now, or I'm calling the police on you for trespassing."

"We're classmates. I'll tell them I'm was over for an assignment."

"I'm serious."

 _Moody._

Taking his threat half-seriously, she patted his right shoulder letting her hand rest on it for the moment it took for her to raise her phone and snap a picture. Quickly, she showed him the photo that, though a little blurry, showed them together. "Picture says a thousand words, my friend." Todoroki let out a quiet curse as she walked past him towards the left side of his courtyard. The titanium bracelets jingled around her wrists as she spun on her heels to grin back at him. "Chill, Todoroki. I'm only pulling your leg."

"I will call," he reiterated.

"I know you would," she brandished her phone out to him as reminder. "But don't worry, you won't have to. I'm getting off your hair just as soon as I find my way out of here."

Though she knew the general direction she needed to go, Nagi couldn't help but slow down and take a peek at his house. She reckoned it somewhat bigger than her grandparents' though just as traditional. Nothing bad about that though. She might've not liked living with them but the traditional look grew on her over the years she lived in it.

"The front gates are the other way," he corrected as she wondered further and further away.

"Told you I'm not using them."

From what she recalled, her grandparents' house bordered a river that led out into the street again and that led to the main part of town. And as neighbors from across the street, Nagi guessed that same creek ran on one side of his house too. It wasn't until she finally stopped and heard the rushing waters not far behind the wooden fence on the far left side of his courtyard that she confirmed her hunch.

"Here's good."

Before he could ask anything, Nagi took a few steps back and sprinted straight at the fence. Blue shoes skidded against the wood but the friction was enough for her to push herself up and grab onto the edge of the tall fence. With a grunt, she hauled herself over one leg at a time and hung onto the somewhat wobbly wood fence once on the other side. A smug smirk came to her lips as she snickered with one of her arms across the top of the fence to keep her in place and the other propping up her head by her cheek.

"Thanks for letting me sneak through—"

"I didn't," he deadpanned. "And also, that's not safe—"

"Really 'preciate the gesture."

Giving him a two-finger salute she was about to jump off from the fence when it suddenly opened to one side. Panicking at it moving from beneath her, her grip and footing slipped and she let out a yelp as she fell from the fence. Grunting on her way down, she rolled down the steep hill until finally crashing into the river below with a loud splash. Reacting, Nagi saved her bag before herself, hoisting it up to prevent it from getting wet along with her. Everything else though either splashed or soaked through, leaving her a partial mess of wet clothes. Taking a step back, she tried standing up but with her hands preoccupied elsewhere, it was hard for her sneakers to find any good footing on the wet rocks in the bend. Any attempt made her slip which brought her back into the water.

As the water settled beneath her, the sound of gravel and dirt scraping against the soles of shoes got her to look up just in time to see Todoroki trotting to a stop at the edge of the riverbank.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm golden." She tried to push herself out instead and groaned when she slid back down into the water.

Todoroki let out a long exasperated sigh through his nose before reaching down with an open hand. Shocked by that, her eyes darted between his outstretched hand and his apathetic expression before handing her bag over for him to hold. Though he shook his head, he still held onto it as Nagi busied herself with getting out of the water.

"You know," she grunted, "A warning would've been amazing." Water trickled down the ends of her shirt and onto the gravel side as she wrung it in her hands.

"Had you stopped talking for a second you would've heard me warn you about the gate."

Turquoise eyes narrowed on him utterly unconvinced. "You could've said something sooner instead of—oh, I don't know—waiting until after I already climbed over the damn fence."

Todoroki didn't miss a beat with his response. "Maybe you'll think twice next time before barging into other people's property."

Nagi couldn't help be angrier at him for being right.

"You're uncharacteristically petty, has anyone told you that?"

He didn't reply. Instead, once he realized she was done wringing as much of the water off her clothes as possible, he returned her bag to her. Nagi didn't hesitate in taking it back. While she adjusted it over her shoulder and cleared her throat to continue her tirade, the noise of the same car from before reached her ears as it passed by them. Both watched it go by overhead, Todoroki only doing so at noticing her attention rapt on the car and seeing her shoulders slump down once it got out of sight.

The beeping that came from her got their attention and she hurriedly patted herself down looking for the source. Cringing and praying it still worked did something, she supposed, seeing as the device still worked despite how soak it got. She carefully unlocked it only to screech at the reminder on the screen.

"The train!" Not minding the river as she ran across it, Nagi slipped a little and caught herself in time to avoid falling again and quickly jumping to the other side. With a running start under her belt, she trotted backwards as she called back at Todoroki. "If it stops working, I'm going to charge you for it!"

"Nothing would've happened had you left through the front gate."

Rolling her eyes at how stubborn he was about that, she spun back around and threw her arm above her head to wave back at him, her phone in clear view as a reminder.

* * *

The sun had already set over the horizon leaving the faint light of dusk behind. But as the day started coming to a close, it too started vanishing to let night come. With the little light still present and many civilians making haste to finish their errands of the day, the streets were still somewhat full. Most of the people out and about though where those who just recently finished their daily grind. But for a detective such as Tsukauchi Naomasa in the Quirk Crimes division, days seldom ended as scheduled. Much less now when his unit was in the middle of investigating the recent attack on Yuuei. And with him at the helm of the investigation, he doubted he would leave the office anytime soon.

Sore muscles groaned in protest as he stretched out in his chair and he grunted in kind. Hours on end of research tended to do that. The laptop opened on his desk held a plentitude of documents open, each pertaining to the run-of-the-mill villains that had been arrested at USJ. None of them particularly stood out. And those that did like 'Shigaraki Tomura' or 'Kurogiri' weren't in the system.

This time, Tsukauchi groaned out his pent up frustration. Tomorrow's debriefing to Yuuei's staff would surely be lackluster.

The sudden _thud_ of a heavy purse hitting the side of his desk startled him enough to jump in his chair. Whirling his head up, he met a familiar face smirking back at him from above.

"Look alive there!"

"Makoto?" His sister gave a swift 'hello' and leaned against his desk, eyes darting every which way inspecting his desk. More than familiar with his sister's curiosity, Tsukauchi was quick to lower the computer's screen and block it from her view. "I thought I sent you a text."

"Oh, I got it." Makoto fished out her phone to flaunt it for a moment before getting distracted by one of his coworkers and waving back at them. "But I figured you'd be overworking yourself and miss dinner. So I thought I might as well take you to eat for a change. How does ramen sound?"

Tsukauchi spared her a glance but couldn't help a smile when he felt his stomach rumble somewhat. "Great, actually."

"Awesome." Chuckling, she played around with the screen of his laptop, tilted it upward every time. "Guess you're busy with that ambush at the USJ, huh?"

Reprimanding her with a slight frown, Tsukauchi completely closed his laptop instead of gambling it anymore. "Yes, but please, don't go snooping around."

"Don't worry, I won't." That cheeky smile told him otherwise. "Besides, I'm busy on my end too. I was just curious."

"Of course you were." Standing up, he motioned off to the exit as he fetched his coat from the back of his chair. "Come on, there's a good place not far."

The haste with which he took off made her raise an eyebrow as she followed behind him. "You need a breather that bad?"

Frankly, a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

The two of them were about to walk out of the station when Tsukauchi spotted Sansa. The moment Sansa saw him though, the officer made a straight beeline to him, stopping them on their way out.

"Is something the matter?"

"Sir, another letter came addressed to you." Tsukauchi's brow knitted down at his words and he frowned when Sansa gave him the loaded envelope with a prominent red sticker of a cat sealing it.

Because that's exactly what he needed right now. More work.

Makoto leaned in to have a better look and her brow furrowed like her brother's did. "Is that Nyango Star?"

Tsukauchi didn't bother answering and instead whirled back into the office with both Sansa and Makoto at his heels. By the time he reached his desk, he already had the envelope pried open and carded through the heap of pictures sent in this time. It was between a pair that a small note was attached with a name typed on it.

Catching the attention of one of the other officers, he called out to them. "Bring up Ringo's last case." Swiftly doing as they were asked, they projected a set of files on the board they had up, exchanging it with the information they had on the USJ for the moment being. Tsukauchi skimmed the documents they had on the last arrest and before long found the one that matched the note.

Having that confirmed, Tsukauchi handed the envelope back to Sansa. "Have these decrypted and compile the information."

Sansa saluted him before taking off to do as he was told. Turning to the rest of the officers, he let them to put back up the information on USJ, but addressed them as they did. "Ringo's sent another file. Though the attack on USJ takes priority, keep in mind that we've got another one to catch in our hands." Their affirmation was resounding and Tsukauchi let out a small sigh once it was given. Without much preamble after, he met back with Makoto at the doorstep of the station. It wasn't until they were well out of earshot and a couple of blocks away from his workplace that Makoto spoke up.

"Alright, that was odd. Who's Ringo?"

Tsukauchi turned to her with pursed lips, debating whether to even mention anything to her. But considering her nature, she'd find out eventually if she wanted to. Sensitive as the matter was, he waited until they got to the ramen shop and were seated to start.

"Ringo is the name we gave to them. They're an informant that first made contact with me almost a year ago. They mailed a letter into the squadroom addressed to me."

"Why do I get the feeling you've never actually met them?"

"I haven't. Nobody in the squad has." Their conversation came to a pause as the waitress came to them and Tsukauchi minded his volume as he continued. "They just started sending letters with no return addresses about a year ago."

"A letter with pictures?"

"Steganography." When Makoto's brow furrowed further, Tsukauchi took a moment to explain it to her. "It's when you hide data in plain view in a photo or an audio file, and it's how Ringo has been divulging their information to us."

"But can't the police track this sort of activity?"

"We've tried. But whatever they're doing has worked up till now to keep themselves well hidden. The letters come from different post offices every time, there are no identifying marks that can be traced, and whatever fingerprints we've found are just from the workers themselves."

"That's all sorts of strange," Makoto mused over it aloud, a fingernail tapping against her cheek. "Why go through all that trouble to give you information? Don't you guys offer protective services?"

"My guess is because they're committing crimes themselves."

"What?"

"The data they gather isn't only what's available in the public record to us, but also and quite frequently, they're private transactions and documents that aren't on record. I won't go into specifics but however they're getting this information, it isn't legal."

Makoto let the waitress put their bowls down and deftly broke her chopsticks as she stared down at the simmering broth. "Under the table deals?"

Tsukauchi gave a curt nod.

"How under are we talking about?"

"I think I've said enough already, Mako." He split his own chopsticks and took to eating but the pout that Makoto gave him and the nagging that came after didn't let him do so in peace.

"Oh, come on, you know me better. I won't go around yapping or publishing it online."

"I know that, Makoto. The answer is still no."

"Throw me a bone at least. No names. Just something and I'll leave it at that and we can eat in peace."

He doubted that. But seeing as she put that deal on the table, Tsukauchi took his sister for her word. "Fine." The moment he saw the broad smile on her face, he made sure to ground her. "But we won't talk of this again."

"You've got it."

"Do you remember the strange outburst of overpowered villains from some years ago?"

Makoto pursed her lips, mulling over what he said before shaking her head. "Don't think so."

"During your last year in college. Back when you were working with Captain Celebrity during his time abroad."

"Oh that!" she said, snapping her fingers. "Yeah, I remember now. You guys were working hard back then too, huh, with the lot of thugs popping up. That have to do with this?"

"In a way." When he didn't add anything further, she grew restless.

"Come on, just a little more info," she urged.

"Makoto."

"Please, Nao. Don't just give me the bone and take it away like that. If you're gonna toss it, leave it."

Tsukauchi sighed. "From what Ringo's given us, we've been able to arrest and convict a handful of high profile suspects that we've had our eyes on for aiding and backing an older and connected case from a few years ago."

"Older case?" She mulled over it for a second and Tsukauchi could see her lining up the pieces in her head through the pensive look in her eyes. Makoto might not personally know of it but the details were enough to link it to a certain other. One that she surely heard of with how much it had been in the news around that time. And knowing his sister and that glint in her eye, she'd already figured it out.

"These people backed Q Plus?"

"Not publicly."

She huffed, understandably disgusted. "Of course not. Pigs like them wouldn't have the guts to ruin their public image by linking themselves to such a horrible and awful—ugh!" Irked, Makoto took a mouthful of her ramen, gulfing it down while grunting, "Makes me sick."

Tsukauchi couldn't agree more.

* * *

' _Please Wait.'_

With ragged breath Nagi stretched out her legs and did as the multi-colored words on the colossal console said. Joyous cries filled every corner of the arcade and partially numbed her hearing. They crammed into her head and didn't let her hear anything other than the thrumming bass of the music coming from the dancing game she spent the last hour playing. Even after having taken the train back, there wasn't an ounce of her that wanted to return to an empty home just yet. So when she spotted the arcade, the decision to stay was easy enough to make. Good thing she had money to spare too with the new dancing game they'd put up. The bright colors that exploded every time Nagi stepped on the mat was a delight to see. And it made dancing much more leisurely than on a four-step mat. Her eyes scanned the list of songs for the tenth time to pick another as she fanned herself. Once picked, she stepped back to ready herself. Stretching her legs back, Nagi felt the cracking of her knees and ankles and groaned under her breath. Maybe Recovery Girl wasn't too wrong in suggesting a readjustment.

 _Maybe next week._

' _Ready?'_

Her eyes focused on the colorful mat before rising to meet the screen that changed. The orange and blue marks that rushed to the bottom spurred her into action. A blaring bass shook her body to the core as each step she gave was met with a _'perfect'_ and bright flashing lights on the screen. The rush of it all emptied her mind of everything. Her senses overtaken by the loud music and bright colors, she failed to hear the rowdy calls shouted her way. It wasn't until she started jumping as the game demanded and spinning around to make it more engaging that she spotted the three grinning faces belonging to Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari not far from where she was. Caught off guard, Nagi stumbled on her feet and slipped onto her backside, the mat below her bursting into color as she broke her fall with her hands.

"Careful, Osoku-chan!" Kaminari called out, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face as he stuck his hands inside his pockets.

Her mind still processing seeing them outside of school, Nagi neglected the screen overhead that kept blaring 'miss' and shining red. "What in the hell?"

Sero pointed at the screen to bring it to her attention. "Score's getting low."

Eyes widening, Nagi scrambled back to her feet and took a quick glance to the screen to catch back up with the song. But with little of it left, she ended it on a row of 'poors' and an overall score of four stars out of five. Nagi clicked her tongue. So much for her perfect run. She wiped at the beads of sweat sticking to her forehead before turning to meet her classmates.

"Funny seeing you here," she said, picking up her bag from where she'd left it lying next to the mat.

"Same," Kirishima perked up and pointed at the game behind. "Didn't take you for a dancer."

"It's a fun exercise."

Sero elbowed Kaminari beside him, nodding at the free console beside Nagi's. "You up for a round?"

"Only if Osoku-chan's up for a 1v1."

Her eyebrows raised at the challenge as she deadpanned, "You want to taste my dust that bad?"

"After seeing how you ended just now, I'm calling your bluff." Kaminari boasted a smug grin as he stepped up to the colorful mat beside hers.

Nagi shrugged her shoulders and took her bag off again, this time placing it on the banister between the two consoles, before taking out her phone. Setting it to video, she gave it to Kirishima who took it with his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Record this." She hopped back onto her mat that burst into bright colors beneath her before thumbing back at Kaminari who busied himself with picking a song for them. A lopsided grin settled on her face as she lunged from side to side to limber up more. "I want evidence of him eating his words."

A round, two rematches, and nine songs later, Nagi whooped and pumped her fist in the air at her screen showing off the rainbow-colored 'winner' on her side.

"I—let her—win." Kaminari raggedly spoke as he tried catching his breath after the twenty minutes of nonstop dancing.

Sero crouched beside a defeated Kaminari leaning against his station and patted his back. "She wiped the floor with you, dude."

"Sure did." Kirishima handed her phone back to her and shared a toothy grin before lifting a fist her way. "Beat him in the manliest of ways: fair and square!"

Nagi blinked at his fist for a moment before that cheeky grin turned into a one from ear to ear and she bumped her fist against his. Feeling that she'd gotten her fair share of exercise from the dancing game, she joined the trio as they walked around the arcade. Despite her initial surprise, Nagi had to admit that out of all her classmates these three were surely what she needed at the moment. Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari were guys just up her alley; carefree, laid-back, and friendly. And though their straightforwardness would take some getting used to, she surely was up for it if it meant having this much mindless fun—something she sorely needed.

Speaking of sore, with Kaminari having lost so utterly more than once and wanting to redeem himself, he took it upon himself to challenge Nagi any chance he got after that.

 _Must think I'll suck at something eventually._

He wasn't wrong. It did take lots of trial and error though. She didn't complain though since he was paying for more credits for her. Shooting games were his first poor choice; target practice was something she liked keeping up with because of her Quirk. He made a few other poor choices after that too. But he got somewhere with rhythm games. She liked dancing since she often had a hard time staying still. But despite that, she was horrible at rhythm games. Always ended up tapping her feet instead of her hands. Noticing that on their first try, Kaminari took full advantage of it when they started playing guitar games. It annoyed her that her hands couldn't keep up with what her eyes were seeing. And that annoyance only made her worse.

Seeing her score getting lower, Kirishima stretched out his hands from the sidelines, "Switch, Chi! Switch!"

Taking his offer, she quickly swapped places with him and Kirishima did what he could, though it was only better than her performance by a smidge. In the end, Kaminari won three rounds in a row even with her, Kirishima, and Sero ganging up on him. Cheeky grin on his face, he looked back at her as he put the guitar back on its stand as a 'you rock!' bounced in gold letters on the bright screen.

"Who's eating their words now, huh?"

"Enjoy it, lightning boy, 'cause it's your word against my video."

His grin faltered and a smug one upturned her lips as she flaunted her phone in his face. Just then, her phone beeped. Right, another reminder. It'd be dark soon if it wasn't already.

 _Guess it's time to head home._

Nagi turned the arcade card in her fingers as she let them know this. All three agreed that it was getting pretty late and that it'd be best to head home too. Sero though, had tickets to redeem, and since she still had a few credits left, Nagi went her separate way saying she'd meet them at the entrance. Wanting to spend them on whatever so they could leave already, she made her way to the crane games and scanned them until spotting one with the cutest prizes. She trotted to it and swiped the card but didn't push 'start' just yet, instead levying which prize she could get. If any.

"Can't decide?"

Her turquoise eyes lifted to see Kirishima through the glass walls of the machine as he stood to the side. Once his red eyes met hers, he walked to her side and stared at the blinking button before turning up to her.

"Just trying to see if there's a chance for me to actually get anything."

"Always thought these things were rigged."

"They are."

And though Nagi knew little about them, she knew enough from Yori's obsessed ass that often liked coming to arcades solely for the purpose of playing the cranes. They liked the rush of having to decipher what toy was 'ripe' for the taking and leaving the rest to luck.

A calculated coin toss, they called it. Half working out the positions and the other half just hoping.

"They're really just glorified adrenaline shots." Picking her spot, she pressed 'start'. A tune jingled before it allowed her to move the crane. Nagi wasted no time in placing it over a small ball of fur that seemed looser than the rest of the toys littering the inside of the machine. "With very shitty and frequent lows."

Kirishima watched from her side, his eyes following the crane as it moved this way and that to try and align over the prize she'd set on. "But doesn't that make it all the more satisfying when you do win?"

"Not when compared to the times you fail."

"Well, if you think that," he motioned back at the rest of the arcade with his thumb. "Why didn't you use those last credits somewhere else?"

Her grip on the toggle tightened a bit as the timer counted down closer to zero. "I like the prize."

"Oh."

The buzzer went off and the crane fell. It rotated on its way down and grasped at the small furball she chose, but it seemed stuck somehow and only strained at being pulled before the weak grasp of the crane let go.

 _Well, it's not like I was hoping to get it anyway._

Sighing defeatedly, Nagi adjusted her bag around her shoulder ready to leave but just as she was about to, Kirishima bend over to swipe his own play card. Instantly, the machine lighted back up to life, the 'start' button blinking again.

"Weren't we leaving?" she said, perplexed.

"It looked really close though!"

"It's stuck, Kirishima."

"C'mon, give it one more try. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky this time!"

Kirishima got her up to toggle the crane and stepped to one side of the machine, his hands frantically motioning every which way to help her align it better. Nagi played along, squabbling back and forth with him until they agreed on the spot seconds before the timer expired. The crane fell and the two watched with bated breath and wide eyes as it took ahold of the same fluff ball as before and pulled. Their breaths hitched when it rose again—this time bringing the pink ball of fluff with it. Their grins only broadened at seeing the pink fluff bringing along with it a tangled red friend.

The two weren't anything more than tacky fur balls with metallic charms on the ring as accompaniment, but they were adorable in their own kind of odd way.

"Thanks, Kiri."

Smiling at the sight of them, Nagi turned to show them to him and smiled. A toothy grinned flashed her way and made her own smile bigger as a result.

"Anytime, Chi."

* * *

Surprisingly, finding her apartment empty didn't weigh on her as much as it had the night before. The oppressive atmosphere she couldn't shake was still there but not as suffocating as it had been. Just by a tiny bit. Taking a deep breath as she settled into her room, Nagi dove face first against her mattress letting her weight sink into it. A demure meowl brought her attention to Mi-chan as she effortlessly leapt onto the mattress with her. Nagi turned to her side, chuckled and took to petting her. The cat leaned head first into the caress purring loudly; almost loud enough for Nagi to confuse her for her vibrating phone. Fishing the device from out her back pocket, 'Inryoku' flashed brightly with the incoming call.

 _Inryoku?_

Strange. She didn't recall that one. Regardless of her faulty memory, she dabbled little on the thought to answer instead. But before she could even get a word out a familiar tone chided her.

" _About time. I've been trying to reach you for two hours."_

"You have?" True to word, she'd missed seven calls already. Funny; the one day nothing happened her phone blew up. "My bad."

" _What have you been doing all day?"_

Sitting up to let Mi-chan curl on her lap, Nagi gave it a thought for a second. The more she did, though, the more she realized there wasn't much of a point to not say it.

"I was out with friends."

Yori scoffed on the other line. _"What friends?"_

"You're a dick." Groaning under her breath, Nagi put them on speaker a second before tossing the phone on the bed and rising from it with a miffed Mi-chan following in tow.

" _Well, at least I'm not—"_ Their retort stopped abruptly followed by a pause too long to not be on purpose. Nagi put little attention to it and instead busied herself with changing as she waited for Yori to collect themselves. _"No, forget it. I don't want to fight anymore, Nagi. Can't we just, you know...call it a truce?"_

Nagi wanted to decline but found herself rather tired of fighting too. So she begrudgingly accepted. Wanting a change of subject, she sat back on the bed and distracted herself undoing her ponytail and the braid in it, carding her fingers through her tangled hair.

"I turned another in to the police."

On the other side, Yori heaved a long sigh. _"I still don't get why you give away our hard earned information."_

"'Cause we can't do squat with it." Turquoise eyes wandered off to the wall across from her, one full from top to bottom with photos she'd tacked onto it. All of them dated; all of them inscribed by hand. "They can."

All they did with it was blackmail one to get to the next link in the rotten chain. And though it served a purpose, it didn't solve the problem. It didn't get them any closer to the justice they wanted or to Yori's body.

" _You're too soft."_

Nagi shrugged her shoulders, her long hair cascading over them freely. "I call it being optimal."

" _If you say so."_

Not liking the dismissal, Nagi changed the subject once more. "How long will you be gone this time?"

" _Can't say. I'll do my best to finish the business I have here quickly though."_

"This is…" Nagi gulped down the knot in her throat that kept her from asking, "This business is with the same people that are targeting Yuuei, isn't it?"

Waiting for their reply was disquieting. And even when she got it, it did nothing to undo the twist that her gut was becoming.

" _I like it as much as you do, Nagi."_ For obviously different reasons. _"Let's just focus on what we've set out to do, alright? You stick to your crowd, I'll stick to mine, and we'll have my body back and finish this for good in no time."_

 _Your crowd's the one that worries me._

Nagi gripped the edge of her comforter tightly in her hand and hid her disconcertment behind a smile she knew they wouldn't see. "Be careful out there, Yori."

" _You too."_ Some sort of ruckus came from the background on their side then. _"I've gotta go. Don't be a stranger, okay, darling?"_

A chuckle escaped her at the blatant irony. "Look who's talking."

* * *

The snicker that left Yori was quiet compared to the noise around him. But hearing that smile in her words lightened his mood greatly. Especially after the whole debacle they had that morning.

His feet shifted beneath him, his golden eyes focused on the brand-new shoes. On the other line, he heard the soft exhale Nagi gave of, surely relieved they were back to 'normal'.

"Later, Nagi."

" _See you later, Yori."_

She hung up. Yori however left his ear pressed to the screen for a second longer letting the dial tone deafen him. 'See you later'—those words had never left him more uneasy than they did now. This time around, he wasn't working alone after all. He wasn't under his own schedule. This time the whim of a temperamental man-baby would keep him from going home. From returning to her.

 _But we have to do this if I'm to find my body anytime soon._

And it _had_ to be soon. Though plenty in number, his seedlings were weak. Pieces of the pieces left behind by a whole. Time ticked on for him, taking away what little he had left. He knew this. Nagi knew this. And he had to trust her not to be fooled by whatever idiotic fantasies her little head was creating with all these new exposures.

Yori let out a long exhale at the thought, leaning back against the grime covered wall of the alleyway he waited in. Surely, she wouldn't. She promised him she wouldn't. And he knew how seriously Nagi took her promises.

Thoughts of the past vanished when he heard footsteps echo through the narrow alleyway. Golden eyes stared off towards the figure sauntering through the mouth of the alley and heading his way. Much taller than the current body he inhabited, Yori feigned a broad crooked grin at the dark-haired man that stopped in front of him. Bright seaglass eyes bore into Yori with a degree of apathy he seldom saw in others. Having spent the time he had with him, though, let Yori wrap his head around the man a little.

 _At least I found him before he could split._

"Yo."

It took the young man seeing those golden eyes of his to recognize Yori. He rubbed the side of his scarred neck when he did, his apathy changing into mild annoyance.

"It's you."

"Happy to be remembered!" Yori took the few precarious steps to get closer to him. "You look alright compared to when I last saw you."

"Get over the useless chatter." Blue eyes narrowed on Yori and stopped him in his tracks. "You obviously came looking for me. Why?"

 _Here goes nothing._

"Recruitment." Yori knew that beating around the bush with this man wouldn't end well. Especially when he could easily just burn him to a crisp with that blue fire of his. Yori shoved his hands inside his pockets to make himself less intimidating before tilting his head. "I come from the league. You know, the one that's been circulating the news ever since they attacked that school for heroes."

He raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You're with them?"

"For the time being, yes. And they're looking for people."

"Don't care."

Having said that, the man started to leave but Yori followed after him, keeping pace with his longer strides.

"C'mon, Dabi. I thought you wanted to destroy this society."

"Joining a half-ass group that came into the spotlight because of a fluke won't do that." Turquoise eyes fell to give him with a sidelong glance. "Which makes me wonder why you're with them."

"Opportunity," Yori admitted. He played with the cap he'd been holding under his arm, twirling it in his finger as they took to the streets out at night. There didn't seem to be much of a need to be inconspicuous either since said streets were practically empty at that hour. "Something you should learn to see in people like these. No matter how idiotic they are."

Dabi kept his eyes on Yori for a moment longer before bringing them back ahead and picking up his pace. "So you agree."

"Whether I do or not doesn't matter. I take the chances I see, even if I have to sow and grow them."

"Too bad I don't see that little garden you speak of."

"Yeah, too bad." Yori stopped in his tracks, rifling through his pockets. Curious, Dabi looked over his shoulder, just in time to catch the phone he toss his way. Dabi took it without a word though seemingly unamused by the gesture. "But if you change your mind, give the number there a call."

"Why're you so stubborn about this?"

"You're a good asset to have. And I'm sure you'd think the same about me if you saw the network I have now."

Yori took his leave then without another word. He knew Dabi would be the harder one to find. That he did so within the day's end was nothing short of a miracle. Him accepting was another matter altogether, one he knew not to hope too much on. He admired the man for his tenacity but Yori considered his narrow mindedness unbecoming of what he claimed to desire. Such a larger-than-life goal needed to be sown with care and time. It needed to be tended to with the patience it required or it would simply wither without even blooming. Such goals were budding seedlings that needed to be cared for before they could be reaped.

Yori had spent the best of his free years tending to his own seedlings to know that. Plans took time, and what he wanted to do would take up to the last minute to perfect.

Suddenly, a pain struck his chest. Yori clutched at it tightly as all the air got punched out of his lungs. Taken aback by the sudden hurt that racked his entire body, Yori fell to his knees, grasping at the cold iron of the lone lamppost as he collapsed on the floor. It ravaged his entire body, ripping his insides without warning. And then it left him just as quickly as it came.

He knew what caused that pain but checked all the same. With ragged breath, he searched for any kind of wound but found none. No injury. Just the visceral pain. He knew _exactly_ what happened: a seedling wilted.

 _Which one?_

It took him no time at all to search through the ones connected to him and find the one missing. Yori's heart ached for the poor soul that ripped itself from the ground, roots and all, but he didn't mourn her for long. Every second he spent doing that was another second wasted and not stopping what pained all of them at their core. If anything deserved to be uprooted and perish, it was them.

 _And once I have my body they will pay for hurting us._

Golden eyes bent down to pick up the dark blue hat lined in orange from the sidewalk, the bright golden 'S' insignia gleaming in the glum light from the lightpost above. Placing it on his head, Yori pulled down on it to hide his eyes from the rest of the world as a linger pain ached in his chest.

"Goodnight, Chiyoko."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **THAT TOOK SO MUCH LONGER THAN IT SHOULD'VE! Don't like how limited my time is now but what are we gonna do about it, right? Anyway, here's an extra long one 'cause goodness knows when I'll get around writing the next. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Tl;dr for those who don't follow me elsewhere, I started school recently and well, it's a time drainer. My writing time has been drastically cut which means that I'm gonna need to make some adjustments. I'm stopping slotted updates for now. Right now, my main focus is finishing another story with this one close second for updates. So on that front, there won't be much of a difference except for, well, time between updates (-w-).**

 **But I'm still gonna keep writing regardless of the lack of time! I will make time because I just love writing, hearing from all of you and seeing how many of you follow and fave this story! :D And I wanna say a big ol' thank you to** _Tw1n Rabb1t, SoratheknowledgeDevourer23, ash20312, bbymojo, Thehobbitnerd, BloodyBel, TheWhiteFang597, 03Isabella, Kaiko Pyon, minnatarek, Sissel's a Cute Bad-aft, FanFanTheGalaxy, SuperManIsActuallyClarkKent, LobaBlu3, hazelstorm92, RoxasIsReal13, Knockoutroundabout, Chise Yukki, Marfo Faura, MarvelGeek13, ,_ **and** _Sassasaurus_ **! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, YOU'RE THE BEST! I don't get lots of reviews like others do but seeing that you all follow and fave this little story just brings me so much joy :') AND A SUPER BIG HUG AND TY to** _SoratheknowledgeDevourer23_ **and to** _Aviantei_ **! You're guys reviews just made my whole month! Tysm for reviewing, specially** _Sora_ **who came in and just went ham and reviewed each one! You made me work extra hard to edit this chapter and get it out there! SO THIS CHAPTER GOES OUT TO YOU!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter despite it being more mellowed out. Lots of things happened tho so I hope that kept ya'll going! Next chapter, we start getting into the Sports Festival with a little bit of more of this sprinkled throughout. And I'm just really excited about it!**

 **For now that's all I've got. Hope you enjoyed and that you stay tuned for the next chapter :)**

 _ **\- Evie**_


	8. Cobalt

**Sorry if the scenes seem cut kinda funky. Lines weren't working with me on this upload.**

* * *

 **viii.| Cobalt**

— _A hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal, cobalt imparts a distinctive blue tint that has been used from_ _jewelry to paintings and glass. Due to its wear-resistant and high-strength properties, it is predominantly used to manufacture high-performance alloys. Derived from the German 'kobold' meaning 'goblin,' a_ _superstitious term miners used to refer to cobalt ore._

* * *

The familiar coolness of tiles pressed against her bare feet sending a chill up her spine. Strange. Nagi didn't remember being barefoot. She wondered how that managed to happen, flexing her toes against the cool floor when it suddenly hit her—the strong unmistakeable smells striking her nostrils. Of antiseptic. Alcohol. Blood.

Her breathing turned shallow at the familiar, bone-chilling scene as it dyed her vision. Like something straight out of her worst nightmares. She stood amidst a vast, circular room. White as could be except for the splotches of bright scarlet and dark crimson—fresh and days old—smeared in a careless attempt to return it to its pristine state. It's walls in shambles in parts or partially broken in others. Their poor state brought on by the numerous conflicts that had gone on inside of it.

Nagi knew this place.

" _The Petri."_ Grandfather told her as such while caressing the back of her neck, just above her collar, with his thumb. _"This is where you'll be nurtured and learned. Here, you'll be strengthened as you should. And here, you will grow for the better."_

But she didn't. None of them did. Her bones may be sturdier than anyone else's but Nagi always felt as fragile as freshly fallen snow anytime she took one step into the petri. It wasn't a place to grow. She knew it as a place to suffer. The place where they fought those monsters.

She trembled even now. Shock and unease froze her in place, her mind keeling itself over the myriad of things that could be in store for her. Just what kind of monster would it be today? What would it be able to do to her? How could she stop it? But the longer she waited with bated breath, the more a crazy thought came to her head. What if no monster appeared? What if no one came at all?

Somehow that petrified Nagi more. Right down to her bones.

The longer she waited, the further the thought clawed itself in her brain. No monster would come. No one would find her. This was where she was, and this was where she would be. In a white and red room with unbreachable walls, a locked door, and cold, tiled floors beneath her—

That suddenly disappeared.

Her breath hitched as she lost her footing and instantly sank. Deeper and deeper, she fell into the vast open waters that were much thicker than any she ever swam in. It swarmed her entire body as she sank. It clung to her like tiny hands desperately clawing at her body, trying to anchor themselves and only plunging them all further down. She fought frantically, both the disgust of their touch and the terror of drowning urging her. But there was nothing to grasp. Only vast open waters.

Her fingers abruptly clung onto slick tile again.

Breaking through for a split second, Nagi caught sight of the small, tiled island as she bobbed in and out of the rampant waters. Fighting against the hands dragging her further and further down, she tried reaching the island. That safe haven. But something was off. The edges of the lone surface were tantalizingly close, enough to appear like she could leap and grasp it but never within actual reach at the same time. Her limbs thrashed to keep herself afloat in spite of this feeling, the ghost hands weighing her down as she struggled still to break through the surface if only for a moment.

Just enough to breathe before they could pull her down below again. It became an endless cycle of breaking through the surface long enough to survive the next dive. She was at the brink of giving up when she saw it—a faint silhouette that stood still, watching her struggle.

Somehow, Nagi finally grabbed onto the edge, the hands not weighing so heavily on her shoulders anymore and allowing her some respite. She struggled to catch her lost breath, gasping heavily and coughing to rid her lungs of the thick water before raising her gaze at the ominous figure.

Her turquoise eyes widened at the boy that stood over her. Yori—the _real_ Yori. The one she could still vaguely remember from those years ago.

A boy of eleven, he had a vacant stare the color of molten gold with sun-kissed skin and short ebony tresses brushing against his nape and against the same collar they all wore. He even had the same baby blue medical gown that stopped just above his ankles, leaving his regimental number in plain sight. A number that set her nerves ablaze anytime she saw her own. Those eyes stared blankly down at her, enthralled. Nagi screeched out for help, swallowing gulps of thick water with each cry. Hearing her pleas, they knelt down and reached their hand out to her, joy and relief rushing through her.

Nagi reached hers out.

Yori didn't grab it.

They bypassed her desperate grasp completely and instead pushed her head underwater. Drowning became the least of her fears in an instant. A new horror bloomed as sure as her breath stopped instead, one of Yori's tight and hurtful grip on her hair that kept her underwater.

No matter how much she thrashed, hit, or scratched at them, they wouldn't let go. Too soon, the burning from her lungs was too much to bear and she gasped for breath. Water coated every inch of her lungs far too quickly. As they filled with heaviness and pain and numbness, and as her body became limp and rapidly sank further into the cold embrace of that horde of hands, she blinked her eyes open. From where the light still broke through the surface, she saw Yori clearly for a split moment.

She didn't know what stopped her heart first: Yori's tear-stained face or their lips upturning at the cusp of a morbid smirk.

Nagi startled awake then.

Gasping for every breath and heart racing out of her chest, turquoise eyes frantically searched her surroundings. This wasn't the petri. It was her room dimly lit by the sunrays that leaked through the curtain. Mi-chan was on her chest sleeping soundly as could be and undisturbed by Nagi's rude awakening. She got up and wiped at the cold sweat that slid down the back of her neck and face as she tried reconciling with the fact that none of that had been real. She hadn't really been there. The petri was gone—destroyed and burned to the ground—and there was no one out there that could hurt her like that anymore. Not ever again.

It had been nothing but a bad, _bad_ dream.

 _It didn't feel like it._

Her lips pursed at the thought that came unannounced. She hated to give it any sort of validity but she couldn't stop herself from doing exactly that. Not even before when she used to have the same nightmares did it ever feel as surreal as this one. Nagi almost forgot about them too. It'd been years since she last had one. Especially since they had mostly gone away after her first sessions with Suzume when she was smaller. That Quirk of hers really worked wonders on the mind.

But then, what brought them back? Especially now after so many years without them?

Mi-chan meowled and jumped off of her chest when Nagi sat up, screeching a little as she got out of bed. Her body felt heavy as if those hands were still grasping at her body. It left her disgusted. A quick glance in the mirror told her what her mind refused to believe: there was nothing grabbing her.

There was absolutely nothing there but her.

Nagi heaved a sigh, relieved to have that resolved until she glanced at the reflection of the clock up on her wall. Her brow scrunched together. _7:40?_ No way. That had to be wrong. _Right?_

Picking her phone from where it laid beside Mi-chan now, she unlocked the screen and felt her blood run cold once more but for a completely different reason.

"SHIT!"

* * *

The first bell rang through the school, its distinctive tolls resounding throughout the hallways.

"Attention, everyone!" The whole of the class turned up to peek at Iida when his voice boomed over the classroom and their attention fell fully on him. "Morning homeroom is about to start. To your seats!"

"We're sitting," Sero said. "You're the only one up."

Iida bent over in agony from the dichotomy brought on by his duties. Resigned, he began heading to his seat but jumped when, at nearing the door, it slammed opened with a resounding _crack_ as it hit hard against the threshold. Perplexed at first, navy blue eyes narrowed at the flash of pink that scurried through the door before it could close from the rebound.

"Chitanko-kun, the door works—"

"— _perfictlyfineIknow_!"

The words came out jumbled, her breathing labored as she made a run for her seat. Nagi dashed past Iida as he went into his aisle, his chidings loud as could be, and skidded into hers. Blue shoes squeaked against the tiled floor, her foot slipping from the speed. Thankfully, she caught herself at the edge of Kirishima's desk and used it to propel herself onto her sit just as the door clicked again to open.

That last stunt hurled her a little too far though. Her arms flailed frantically, trying to stop herself from tipping over, chair and all. But it didn't work; she tipped over completely. Defeated and resigned to her fate, she squealed seconds before a loud crash and _thud_ rang out through the room. She groaned as she picked herself up of the ground but regretted it when she spotted a pair of bright, red eyes glaring down at her beyond a mess of bandages.

"What did I say about that gaudiness?"

Nagi flashed him a crooked grin from behind her desk. "At least I'm not late."

"You're not on your seat. That's late to me."

"What?!" The shriek shot her out from her hiding spot and she slammed her hands on her desk. "That's bull—!"

A swift glower sent shivers down her spine and shut her up instantly. Opting for her silence instead, Nagi picked up her chair and sat before slamming her forehead against her desk. Aside from a general 'are you okays' from a couple of her classmates, the rest seemed more worried about Aizawa and went off about how glad they were he was well. Unlike them, she hadn't been too worried. A quick call to Suzume was more than enough to ascertain her of how he was doing. And—to her dismay and relief—that he was still coming to give homeroom today. He, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit fazed about his mummified condition.

"My welfare isn't important." Nagi scoffed a little, finding how his muffled voice sounded funny and much less threatening behind all those bandages. "What does is that your fight is far from over."

Panicked murmurs started almost immediately, worry clear in their voices and faces. But the curve ball he threw them was more than enough to quiet them down and give them a completely 180 turn in attitude.

"U.A.'s sport festival is fast approaching!"

An uproarious consensus about how ordinary that was burst through the classroom. It was so loud that Nagi covered her ears to shield herself from the noise. In spite of this, she still heard some of their concerns. Some of which she agreed with. _Seems a little bit early after the attack, no?_

"It's necessary." Aizawa's voice droned on about what the rest of the staff had come up with to surely calm their doubts. "Anyhow, our sports festival is _the_ greatest opportunity you'll get. It's not an event that can be canceled over a few villains."

Nagi laid her chin on the cool desk, mellowing down after all the morning adrenaline. "I recall them being more than 'a few'—ah!"

She ducked to avoid the eraser thrown her way. Nagi's mind ran a mile a minute thinking how in the hell he could have grabbed that eraser much less throw it. Aizawa didn't pay her quizzical expression any mind. It got her to shut her mouth after all.

"Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events." Interested in the little history lesson he gave them, Nagi left her questions for later and listened. "And as far as Japan's concerned, what's taken the place of the Olympics is the U.A. Sports Festival."

Murmurs spread like wildfire and she mostly listened, trying to discern what was so special about them aside from what Aizawa had said. She'd seen them quite often whenever she snuck out of her grandparents' house—from radios left on in the neighborhood or in TVs through display windows—but cared little to pay them any mind. Nagi didn't like tournaments or competitive fights in general. She liked showing-off, sure—as much as that pained her ego to admit—but competing against others, regardless of who they were, and on live television to boot didn't sit well with her or her gut.

Flaunting themselves in front of cameras for thousands to watch for entertainment. For heroes to appraise them. So that they could become sidekicks and go solo one day eventually. _Funny._ Nagi reached down to scratch the mild itch that started on her ankle, a tepid warmth crawling under her skin. _Reminds me of cattle._

Nagi resigned herself to the thought of it though. Aizawa was putting too much emphasis on it for her to just opt out of. This only happened once a year. That gave her three chances to impress a top-notch hero and get that 'valuable experience' he talked about. It didn't matter how it made her feel.

It was something she had to do if she wanted to help Yori. And for them—

"Show the pros what you're made of here, and you'll make futures for yourselves. If you're hoping to become a hero, this is an event you can't miss."

—she'd stomach being being part of this dog and pony show.

* * *

" _Why do you want to be a hero?"_

* * *

The bell marking the end of fourth period and the start of lunch resounded in her ears and Nagi yawned to pop them. Almost immediately after Cementoss left class, they all erupted into a ruckus that rung in her ears just as bad as the bell did. She picked at them, unamused while listening in to their scattered conversations.

"This has got me so freaking pumped!" It wasn't that surprising that Kirishima was all in on this. She thought that if anybody would be, it'd be him. "If we show our stuff here, that's one big step towards going pro!"

 _Pro, huh?_

Her mind wondered with that thought. Before it could take over her mind though, she shook it off and stretched out her legs in front of her, propping them on Midoriya's empty chair and bending forward. A distinct _pop_ came to her ears and she let out a curt breath in relief at her knees locking rightly into their sockets.

"Aren't you excited too, Chi?"

Her head snapped up to her side where Kirishima lounge around with Tokoyami, Sato, and Sero and stared blankly at them. They all eagerly waited for an answer but all she gave them was a curt shrug of her shoulders. Kirishima and Tokoyami shared a puzzled look before turning back to her as she stretched her arms behind back, her shoulder blades locking with a resounding _pop._

"You aren't?"

" _Look_." The word cut short as she turned her upper body to the sides, the _popping_ loud with each turn. Stretching backward against her seat, Nagi bent her neck as far back as she could to look at them. "I'm for it, just not as _much—!_ " her back popped louder than the rest of her joints had, making her grunt the word, "—as you are."

Tokoyami's ruby eyes curiously peered at her as if searching for something that he couldn't readily find. "That's perplexing to say the least. Especially considering the vivacious performance you gave during our first heroics exercise."

She grimaced at him as she flexed her wrists over and under her arm. _Pop, pop._ "Talking oranges and apples there."

"Tokoyami's got a point," Sero agreed. "Besides, this is supposed to be a big break for us! Shouldn't you, you know, be more hyped about it or something?"

"If you're on my back 'cause of lack of hype, go bother Todoroki then." Nagi sternly pointed towards his empty desk. Her bichromatic-eyed classmate was already far gone though. She stretched her arm across her chest holding her upper arm with the opposite hand. "I don't see him wound like a toy ready to burst about it, either." A swift jerk let out a _pop_ and her expression relaxed from the rush of relief that came over her.

"That's Todoroki though." That more than one of them said that irked her somewhat. _Oh, horseshit._

"C'mon, Chi, a spirited mindset will give way to a manly battle, dontcha think?" Kirishima's intended pat fell too hard against her shoulder and a loud _pop_ rung out instantly. Both of their eyes widened at the sudden noise but only Nagi's returned to normal quick enough with a content sigh as she switched arms. With a thin line on his face, he looked past Nagi to the one behind her.

"Don't you think so, Bakugou? Surely, you're hyped about it too." She watched him flex his arm at said boomstick behind her, that boyish grin of his spreading across his face. "I know I am! Excited to have a go against you."

A rowdy explosion from behind her brought them to a quiet standstill. Nagi turned over her shoulder to watch Bakugou slam his hand against his desk, setting off another explosion with his palms as he scowled.

"Shut your traps already!" A few sparks went flying her way and she swatted at them to keep them away from her hair. He grumbled at her nonchalant dismissal but returned to glower at them equally. "You're all so damn noisy."

"What? You scared of a little bout?" Nagi felt her boisterous side coming alight again. She could definitely pin it to Bakugou too. Something surprising after such a short time of knowing him, not to mention the constant threats of bodily harm. But what could she say? Poking the already lit powder keg turned out to be a much funner pastime than she first thought.

 _Boomstick, powder keg. I gotta find one that fits him best before I forget._

Bakugou's grin split wider, daring and arrogant as could be. "You wish. I'll show you something to be afraid of, damn Twinkle Toes. You and all the other extras are gonna bite the dust when I take first."

"Ho?" she quipped with a raised eyebrow. "Is that a dare I hear?"

"Ha! You wouldn't even pass the first round."

"That so?"

Returning the grin, hers was crooked at first. It became a full blown smirk the moment she heard her arm _pop_ into place. She let go instantly, her arm slingshotting backwards and smacking Bakugou right on the face.

Nagi slammed the door open and scurried out of the classroom, a huge explosion shooting out from the open door in her wake. Smoke and smoldering bits of strawberry hair trailed behind her as she booked it from there, her laughter ringing out heartily.

" **Come back here, fucking Twinkle Toes!"**

 _God, messing with this firecracker's the best!_

* * *

" _You and all the other extras are gonna bite the dust when I take first."_

 _ **Is it that important to win? Does winning make a good hero? And what happens to those who lose?**_

* * *

 _Ugh, I'm dying._

Nagi's stomach rumbled louder than usual but the rowdy lunch crowd kept it well hidden. She placed her hand over it in a feeble attempt to quiet it. Didn't do much other than make it noisier. _It's what I get for waking up late_. It irked her plenty. Not just because she was almost late to homeroom but because she missed breakfast _and_ her morning alignments. Good thing they didn't have hero basics till later, she supposed.

As soon as her mind wandered off, it was brought back by the noise of her own stomach demanding sustenance. She scanned the menu for the day the closer the line moved towards the counter, but her eyes went wide as saucers when she patted her pocket and felt nothing. Panic settled quickly as she hysterically looked for her wallet. At not finding it, she ran back to her now empty classroom and rifled through her bag in search of it.

"Oh, come on," she hissed under her breath. "Tell me you're here. You have to be."

Her mumbles turned louder and angrier and before long she took to emptying all the contents of her bag onto her desk without a care. Doing that only confirmed her fear. She didn't have her wallet. No wallet meant no money. No money meant—tears sprouted from the corner of her eyes.

"I'm gonna die!"

"Chitanko-san?"

Her teary-eyed face whirled and spotted Yaoyorozu closing the door behind her as she entered the room. She stopped dead in her tracks and stiffened at the sight of a sniffling Nagi who crouched behind her desk.

"Is—Is everything alright?"

"...no." The sniffling became full blown crying at the drop of a hat at the sour reminder. "I forgot my wallet at home. I'm going to starve to death!"

"Oh." Yaoyorozu's shock wore off quickly at realizing it wasn't anything too dire. Once the initial shock faded, her eyes dropped to the lavish box in her hands and her expression brightened. "In that case, would you like a portion my meal?"

Turquoise eyes opened wide, the idea tantalizing to say the least, but she let that go fast enough. Thinking better of it, she sighed, wiping at her tears, and walked out of her pity corner. "No, it's alright."

Yaoyorozu blinked perplexed. "Are you certain?"

"Yeah, I'll manage. It wouldn't feel right to take food that you brought for yourself, you know?"

"Oh, but it wouldn't be an issue. This bento is quite small compared to others I've had but I'm sure we can share it just fine." Yaoyorozu came to her desk and placed the box on top of it. The sight of it took her aback, eyes widening.

 _She calls this small?_

Yaoyorozu took apart the three layered box to show the appetizing food neatly placed within. Wanting a better view, Nagi went back to crouching beside her desk as Yaoyorozu went about doing that and stared for a moment. But the instant she took a whiff of it, she almost melted from the succulent fragrance she inhaled. She practically prattled off under her breath every different kind of dish that Yaoyorozu listed off, word for word. They all sounded delicious and smelled even better. She could only imagine how savory they'd be.

Puppy eyes on, Nagi turned her gaze upward at her goddess and savior. "You sure it's not a problem?"

"Of course not!"

 _Yaoyorozu, you saint!_

Joining a couple of desks to make a makeshift table, she sat down, patiently waiting for Yaoyorozu who evenly divided her meal for the two of them. Once done, they dug in without further ado. A few grains of rice stuck to her face as she tried and failed to eat her portion slow enough to enjoy it. _I'm in heaven._ Nabbing one of the eggrolls, she savored the salty sweetness at the very least. And goodness were they fluffy. Nagi let out a long breath, relishing it all and sighing from utter delight.

"How are these so good?"

Yaoyorozu smiled at her hearty enthusiasm and picked a piece of tender meat between her chopsticks. "My mother picked some family recipes for the cooks. She said that they would be healthy and most of all delicious. I'm glad you're enjoying them so much."

"Send me those recipes. I don't ever want to eat anything other than this!"

"Well, have as much as you like. It would be quite ailing to go into our afternoon classes with an empty stomach. Especially hero basics."

Uh-oh. That didn't sound good. Swallowing the mound she'd been chewing on, Nagi bit down on the tip of her chopsticks and spoke through the hold.

"You know what we're doing for class?"

"Why, yes. As representatives, Iida-san and I are fully informed of our schedule to properly prepare and impart duties." Yaoyorozu paused to clean her face with the napkin that sat on her lap before continuing. "And with the sports festival so near, Aizawa-sensei seems to be preparing us with the arduous classes he has organized for the next couple of weeks."

The delicious food turned tasteless in her mouth at the sound of that.

"How hard exactly?"

"Well, if I recall correctly, today is more training."

Taste returned to her mouth as her straightened back laxed after that scare. It didn't sound bad. Manageable even. But knowing Aizawa, he surely had something up his mummy sleeve to make such a simple thing a hundred times worse.

"But I'm sure it won't give you any trouble, Chitanko-san." Yaoyorozu replaced the lid on the top box of her bento where she'd put her share of food and set it aside. "From what I could discern of your Quirk, you have quite the potential to offer both defense and offense in all sorts of situations. Surely, class shouldn't be such an issue. Much less the sports festival for that matter."

Judging by the gleam in her eye and by the fact that this was the second time she mentioned it, Nagi took a gamble on what actually swam inside that brilliant head of hers.

"You excited about the festival?"

"But of course!" That subtle gleam she saw in her eyes brighten in a rather childlike manner. It made her look cuter than her usual elegant poise let on. "It's such a grand opportunity, most of all because it allows even us as first years to begin networking outside of school."

Nagi couldn't help her small chuckle when Yaoyorozu continued to talk so enthusiastically about the festival. It certainly changed Nagi's perception of her as something other than 'the rich girl'. It was always nice to watch someone talk about what they loved. Certainly brought a smile to her face to watch how someone could love something so much that it changed and defined them so completely. Bizzare, but nice.

The more Yaoyorozu talked about the sports festival and what she expected of it when considering past years of spectating, though, the more Nagi felt the words bubbling in her throat begging to be let out. Surprisingly, they won out in the end.

"Say, Yaoyorozu."

"Yes?"

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

Yaoyorozu blinked owlishly, baffled at first by the sudden question, but as she gave it some thought, a smile came to her lips and her cheeks dusted in pink.

"I greatly admire the job heroes do. They help those in need and protect those who need to be protected. With my Creation, I'm quite aware of the kind of aide I can bring to the populace as a hero. And my hope is to use it to do good."

The corners of Nagi's lips upturned slightly. "Talk about admirable."

The rosiness of her cheeks darkened somewhat at the compliment but her dark onyx eyes rested on Nagi as a smile spread across her lips. "What about you, Chitanko-san?"

"Me?"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "I'm sure your reason doesn't fall far from admirable either."

 _Don't know about that._

Nagi toyed with her chopsticks as she wondered how to respond to that. For once, she was speechless. She didn't want to say what she usually told Yori—that it was for their sake and for all the kids from the farm to have their justice. To find his body and have her friend back. It was the truth, but Nagi couldn't shake the qualm that argued with her about it.

Still at odds with herself, she couldn't fathom a right answer to give Yaoyorozu. So instead, she smiled and said 'same as you' before segueing back to talk about class. Yaoyorozu didn't seem to question her answer and went along with the conversation. That the gleam in her eyes was still there told Nagi that she didn't give much thought to her reply either.

Frankly, she didn't want to give a half-assed answer just to say it. It felt disingenuous. And for once she didn't want to full on lie about it. So until she could figure out her answer to Rei's question— _and to my own—_ Nagi sided with vagueness.

Soon enough, after they finished their lunch and spent the little time they had left chatting, the bell rang. The noise outside their class buzzed even through closed doors but Nagi didn't mind it much, focusing instead on helping Yaoyorozu put her empty bento box away. Noticing her own mess of a desk, she trotted over to put away all the stuff she had tossed haphazardly onto it. It wasn't until she touched something fuzzy inside her bag that she stopped. The couple of red and pink fuzz balls she'd won the day before at the arcade stared back at her when she picked them out of the bag, wondering how they got in there. Must've slipped them in there by accident.

 _Why couldn't I have forgotten these things instead of my wallet?_

Frustrations aside, Nagi played with the two keychains on either hand as she pondered what to do with them. Even if she kept one, she still had another one ex...tra.

A broad smile spread across her face at the thought that came to her. Nagi wasted no time and hopped to Yaoyorozu as she took her seat behind her desk. Ebony eyes peeked up at her with a curious glint in them.

"Was there something else you needed, Chitanko-san?"

"Sorta." Nagi produced the red fur ball and jingled it in front of Yaoyorozu, the small crystal ornament attached to the keychain _clinking_ against the silver ring. "I won it the other day at the arcade. I know it's not much compared to your delicious food but I'd like for you to have it, Yaoyorozu."

"For me?" Nagi nodded, the broadening of her smile brightening her enthused expression.

A tad bit taken aback still, Yaoyorozu simply opened her palms out before her. Nagi gently laid the keychain in her hands without a problem. It fit just right in them, the soft fur tickling her palm. Showing off the pink one she kept, Nagi smiled and gave it a jingle.

"And look! We'll share a pair!"

A bright smile lit Yaoyorozu's face at her words and gesture and she closed her hands tenderly over the toy keychain. "It's wonderful, Chitanko-san. Thank you!"

That lopsided grin of hers appeared again as Nagi tossed her keychain in the air to catch it.

"And thank _you_ for the meal, Yao-chan."

* * *

" _What about you, Chitanko-san? I'm sure your reason doesn't fall far from admirable either."_

 **I want to help Yori. I want to help the other kids from the farm too. All I want to do is help. That's admirable.** _ **Right?**_

* * *

 _Bare feet cautiously wandered forward into the empty arena. She measured each step and pressed trembling hands close to her chest to keep her beating heart from rupturing through. Her small footsteps stopped once she was near the center and Nagi gaped every which way she could. Fear gnawed at the back of her mind, her gut churning at what horrible thing would come. Because it surely would. It was all a matter of when. And what._

 _Worse of all, she couldn't keep the foreboding words Grandfather said before the Nurses brought her to the petri._

" _We have visitors today, my child. Be sure to do well."_

 _Her heart hammered against her chest at the reminder. She never did well. She always lost against those monsters—the Nomus. And Grandfather would always give her that look afterwards._

 _A look that meant that more needed to be done. It meant more medicine. More surgeries. More pain—so much more pain. She hated that look._

Please don't look at me like that _, she pleaded._ I'll do good. I'll beat it this time. So please...no more.

 _Her rattled mind stopped dead in its tracks as the doors opposite of her opened. From the shadows something emerged and the moment it came into the light, the blood in her veins froze. Another child, one she hadn't seen before, stepped onto the platform with her. Their was body scrawny, their skin pale, and their eyes sunken. Did all of them look that way? Had they been in that place longer than she had or were they just that beaten? Her mind halted once more when Grandfather's voice came through from the collar latched onto her neck to say two words that baffled her completely._

" _Attack it."_

 _Turquoise eyes went wide._

" _...what?"_

 _Instantly, Nagi heard a click and felt the sharp pain that ran down her spine as electricity shot through her. It robbed her lungs of air and she bend over to catch it._

" _Attack it."_

 _Her eyes watched the kid across from her who was quaking in their feet and audibly whimpering. Her gut twisted at the sight. "But...it's someone else."_

 _Click. Another shock shot through her, bringing her to her knees as she gasped for the air that was shocked out of her body._

" _Attack_ it _."_

 _She fought monsters because they hurt her, because they hurt her friends. But fighting each other?_

" _No."_

 _She wouldn't lift a finger to hurt them. They did nothing wrong. Just like she did nothing to deserve this. Nagi struggled to breathe but forced herself to stand, the iota of courage that she somehow found still in her letting her stand tall._

" _No." Her voice didn't tremble anymore, conviction coating her words instead._

 _Grandfather heaved a long, disappointing breath._

 _Click._

 _The shock lasted longer. It brought her to the ground, her body convulsing from the electricity running through. Struggling to breathe and with all her strength focused on gasping for even one tiny breath, she barely managed to make out Grandfather's voice._

" _Let's try it one last time." The shock ended leaving behind a high-pitched ringing in her ears. Nagi hacked violently as her body folded into itself in a feeble attempt to lessen the pain. But even through her aching body and the ringing she heard his words._

 _His orders._

" _Attack."_

 _Nagi bit her lip until she drew blood. It hurt but not as much as the rest of her. The taste of iron coated the inside of her mouth, a taste all too familiar to her. After being bled so many times, after being broken countless others, it didn't surprise her anymore. But it wasn't just familiar. It was calming in some strange way. More than that it was a reminder. The taste of her viscid, metallic, and_ warm _blood reminded her that she was alive. That she had it in her to fight. That she could keep going. And if she could..._

 _So could they._

" _No."_

 _Click._

* * *

"Listen up."

A lollipop stick swirled around in Nagi's mouth when Aizawa called them to attention. She stopped briefly beside Aoyama, his belt catching the light and reflecting it at her a bit, and turned to their teacher shortly before either chipper or curious chatter ensued. She bit down on the stick before a knowing smirk spread across her face at knowing well enough, thanks to Yaoyorozu, what awaited them for class.

"Today's exercise is simple and short: escort battle."

"Escort battle?" Yohsei's confusion was more than audible. Frankly, she wasn't so sure what he meant either. _So much for knowing._

Aizawa dropped his gaze to Yohsei. "At its core, it is a one-on-one battle."

Nagi froze at the dreadful words. At the front of their group, Yohsei's ears jerked before he tugged them down close to his the sides of his head. Awe spread at such prospect, completely erasing the mumbles from a moment ago. She, however, wasn't so eager. Frankly speaking, it dropped her heart to her stomach and made her feel sick.

"And the escort part?" Tsuyu leaned her head to one side with her query.

"I'll give you teams of four: one leader and three additions. Those additions won't be allowed to fight. Their purpose is to act as pseudo civilians in need of escorting to safety."

Iida's hand shot up in the air a few heads ahead, startling her. "Will there be any restrictions or rules to heed?"

"Only a few." Aizawa motioned out to the simulated town behind them. Though seemingly small, Nagi could guess that any type of escorting would be hell in it. _Any escorting is hell, period._ "This isn't a show of power. The point of this exercise is to employ your Quirks in the most efficient manner possible in order to safely get your civilians to safety. Whether or not the team leaders fight will depend on the type of situation you each find yourselves in and what decisions you make regarding them. Either way, you pass the exercise if your civilians successfully reach the safe point the least injured or if you manage to incapacitate the other team's leader first."

"Alright!" Kirishima, enthused at the prospect,n hit his fist against his open palm. "A man's duel! Now that's what I'm talking about."

"Sounds simple." Jirou idly twisted one of her earphone jacks in one finger. Nagi didn't know how she could be so at ease with it. All this talk of this exercise was starting to turn her stomach.

"Not so fast." That turning stopped and sunk instantly, the feeling weighing as much as lead at Aizawa's interruption. "If you do decide to fight take into account what I said about the state of your civilians."

"State?" Nagi repeated, feeling like she could hurl at any moment.

"It makes sense." Midoriya didn't lose a second to ponder about it.

She let out an infuriated groan, annoyed with her sickness and envious of his bright mind being able to grasp things so easily. "How in the hell did any of that make sense?"

Tokoyami let out a low hum behind her and Nagi peeked over her shoulder with a disgruntled pout. "From his words, it might be the case that even if we do arrive first at the safe point, we could very well fail depending on the state of our civilians."

"Precisely," Aizawa said.

 _Fuck me._

Fighting against others was one thing, but having to do so while defending others was just a load she didn't want to deal with. Did all this come from what happened at USJ or was it actually hero basics? A little bit of both, she guessed. Regardless, Nagi held tight onto her stomach, the bile rise and drop at random as Aizawa went about choosing teams.

"Team A will be Asui, Mineta, and Iida, led by Bakugou."

Nagi ignored the subsequent lip that followed from Bakugou, her churning stomach taking much more of her attention than his rage at having to take care of 'extras.'

"Are you feeling unwell, Chitanko-san?" Yaoyorozu asked beside her.

"Little queasy." But maybe it was just premature nausea. If she worked well with the cards she got dealt, she could very well just get by the exercise without having to fight at all. _That'd be ideal._

"Team B is Jirou, Hagakure, and Tokoyami—

"And Chitanko will lead them."

Nagi threw up a little in her mouth.

* * *

The tapping of her foot against the tiled floor of the building they were in echoed quite loudly within the empty space. Nagi adjusted the piece Aizawa gave them forcefully back in her ear as it fell a little. She clicked her tongue more than annoyed, grinding her teeth at the thought of who she had to deal with. Toru, Jiro, and Tokoyami stared back at her, idly standing by and waiting for her plan. Toru approached her first, her approaching shoes giving it away as she came closer to Nagi and squeezed her shoulder a bit.

"Nagi-chan, are you still feeling sick?"

Jirou stood to the side, looking out the window next to her and turned her gaze back to Nagi. "Maybe you should've backed out when Aizawa-sensei gave you the chance."

"Hell no." Rifling through one of her costume's pouches, she pulled out an energy bar Yaoyorozu gave her, ripping it open and wolfing down half of it in one bite. Glowering at nothing in particular, she finished it before turning to each of her 'civilians' in turn. "If I bail, I won't hear the end of it from Firecracker."

"Certainly wouldn't." Tokoyami looked over his shoulder with Dark Shadow peeping from beneath the windowsill with his claws holding him against it. "That being so, I am curious as to your strategy. Surely you aren't thinking of fleeing."

 _Wouldn't think it._ It's Bakugou after all. There was no way in hell he would do the sensible thing and avoid her to get an easy pass. Knowing him and speaking from experience, he would run headfirst intent on finding and subduing her instead. That was not something she was looking forward to.

"I don't think he'll let us get away if we try."

"What's your plan then?" Jirou asked.

 _Fight him off while you three get away._

It was the happy medium. Or the more plausible one if she was being honest. Distract him and let them get to safety. Aizawa never mentioned that she had to be with them when they got there. So that was still a viable option. Toru, Jirou, and Tokoyami agreed with her. So when the buzzer went off for the exercise to start, they took to her plan. And from where she saw it, alleyways were the best option to go through the faux city.

"Cramped." Nagi couldn't dismiss Toru's complaints. Not when even she was having trouble getting through them too.

"It's not that bad of an idea though." Jirou whispered. Nagi duly noted the ease with which she could pass through the narrow space.

"What do you mean, Kyoka-chan?"

Nagi took the chance to answer her, but not before stopping them briefly to check over the alley's mouth for a sign of Firecracker. With the coast clear, she turned back to Toru with a reassuring smile. "Cramped spaces are hard to move in."

Toru let out a long 'oh' at understanding the reason behind their odd paths. "That _is_ a neat idea. Surely, cramped alleys will stop Bakugou from fighting in here."

Doubt shadowed her face, her smile turning to a taut line at how easy that sounded. Tokoyami, noting the same thing that she did, spoke up from the back of the line as he squeezed through the end of the alley into the open road.

"Questionable," he said. He and Nagi shared a skeptical glance and she nodded in agreement.

Tight spaces where their best bet to avoid Bakugou and his team for the time being. From what she'd seen, their fighting styles, albeit distinct in most aspects, had one thing in common: mobility. It was the most prominent thing she took away from their first hero basics class. Bakugou, much like herself, was constantly on the move. They needed to be, either to sweat or to gain motivity. And in tight spaces, they'd be fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. She just hoped that it'd be more of a detriment for him than for her.

"Over here." She motioned to the nearest alleyway after gathering their bearings and redirected them. Nagi guided them in, one filing after the other, while keeping an eye out. So far so good though. No unexpected yelling or cursing or explosions—

" **Found you, fucking Twinkle Toes!"**

 _Shit!_

Nagi squeezed through as fast as she could, ignoring the tiny, crackling explosions readying to fire from not so far away. Calling on the titanium on her costume, all her attention went to closing the mouth of the alleyway with a metal slab that rose as high as the rooftops, blocking off the explosions.

"Run, go, go!" Her three classmates didn't wait long after her shout to hurry through the alley.

Easier to run through than the last, Nagi kept sparing paranoid glances over her shoulder as they exited. Reorienting herself back on track, though, took a second too long. An explosion blasted off behind them and from high above and through the smoke screen created, Bakugou sprung forth, a fierce grin splitting across his face. Reacting, Nagi recalled her metal, converging it to her before sweeping her arms over them. Clenching her fists hardened the metal just in time to take the brunt of another explosion. She turned to the other three who with a simple glance and nod knew what to do. Tokoyami took charge then enacting the plan and hurried them along the next back alley.

Before he could see them, Nagi extended her arms outward and fully spread her fingers, simultaneously pushing the metal plate towards Bakugou and turning it into a mesh of metal. The instant she heard the grunting and cursing followed by rowdy explosions, Nagi joined her hands together and forming a makeshift circle hollowed by her hands. Her titanium didn't lag behind. Integrating again, it shaped into a hollow sphere that thudded loudly as it hit the ground.

Nagi let out a shaky breath, struggling to keep its shape as explosions began to hit the metal one after another. Each hit sent shocks through her body, from her hands to her head and up her spine, sparking pain at the back of her head each time. But it was hardly anything when compared to the blaze set alight by her Quirk at the pit of her stomach. So long as that fire didn't go haywire, she could deal.

Or at least that was her hope until she saw the visible cracks on her metal.

"Nagi-chan, watch out!"

She couldn't discern from who the warning came from—Tsuyu's and Toru's voices mingled in her ear briefly—but that mattered little compared to the blast that tore her metal prison apart. Shards flew haphazardly through the air as another explosion went off. The shock that ran down her spine when it broke turned out being too much and detached her control from the metal completely. There wasn't time to worry about that though. Out from the smog that lingered, a flash of ash blonde sped beside her.

 _So damn fast!_

A feral grin flashed on his face, crimson eyes locking on her as his palms crackled ready to explode. _Move!_ But no matter how much her panic demanded it, her body couldn't move that quick. That much was clear. There wasn't any way for her to move faster than his explosions launched him.

The cool touch of metal around her wrist brought a sudden idea. One not so bright. _Quite stupid, actually._ Converging her body to titanium instead of the other way around was something she hadn't done for years. Something that would certainly break a bone or two or more if she didn't do it right. But there was no time to think. Bakugou didn't allow it. And to get away from him and his feral instincts, she needed to do the same. She needed to listen to that crazy, innate gut feeling of hers too.

Throwing her arms back, the metal shot backward indiscriminately. But it wasn't a target that she was looking for—only momentum. Turquoise eyes zeroed in on the bright orange palms of his hands as they glowed brighter. Waiting for the right time. It wasn't until she saw the smoke trailing from them and Bakugou move his right arm to swing that she made her move. Softening the metal melded with her bones, Nagi felt her insides lose their consistency at the same time as a pull yanked her from behind. Without warning she flew backwards towards the metal that traveled behind her, hauling her back in one swift motion. Fast enough to avoid Bakugou's point blank explosion. But too fast to properly control it—too fast and _way_ too hard. She bit back the cry that wanted to break free at her bones scraping against her muscles and skin, pulling and craving to merge with the piece she'd thrown behind her. Unable to withstand the pain any longer, she released her control on the bracelet and returned it to herself. Nagi tumbled backward into a pile of loose limbs and skidded to a stop as best she could with her frail legs, pain firing straight up her healing ankle as she did.

"What...what was that?" Grimacing, she turned to Jirou who stood at the entrance of the alleyway. It ired her that Toru and Tokoyami were there with her too. The pain rid her of her usual filter and she barked at them.

"Get out of here! Now!"

Jirou and Toru jumped startled at her stringent tone, but thankfully Tokoyami wasn't as stunned by her brusqueness to not follow her instructions. The scoff from ahead brought her attention to Bakugou as he brandished out his arm to dispel the smoke. She couldn't keep from following his every move with her eyes. The way he prowled her way was methodical, calculating even and it told her plenty. _He's not stopping._ A scowl replaced his haughty smirk.

"The hell did you do to get away?"

Nagi didn't answer. She struggled to stand, her legs like a newborn deer's as the metal solidified much slower with her mind in such turmoil. Weaving her fingers along her legs, she felt the titanium shifting and rearranging. She groaned and turned to frown at Bakugou whose scowl deepened at seeing her expression. This time as he approached, crackling explosions went off in his palms as he swung them by his sides, smoke quickly rising.

"Forget it, I don't care. You'll be eating my dust anyway!" Raising one hand, Bakugou rushed at her with reckless abandon. Not giving even a moment to catch her breath.

Twisting the bracelet on her other hand, she threw it to the side and before it could get to far, let its momentum jerk her sideways. Those crimson eyes pursued her though, expecting her move.

"That ain't working twice!"

Turquoise eyes widened the moment he used his explosion to correct his direction. Guessing what would come, she raised her arms, bringing the measly piece of titanium to form a thin plate to protect herself. It did little against the ferocious explosion he set loose though. Nagi let out a shriek at being sent flying and rolled to a stop across the street. Thankfully, her body was reforming faster than before, muscle memory kicking in and forcing her fingers to weave in and out while imaging how to mold herself back into shape. The other kept her control tethered on the pieces Bakugou had blasted away, recalling them to converge when he launched at her once more.

Dodging out of the way of the next one, her ears rang incessantly at the proximity of the attacks but ignored them. Instead, she ran. Grasping at straws, she swept the asphalt beneath her with her hands making sure to touch as many of the titanium shards that she'd lost from her costume. Each touch brought a new piece to life then another and another until they all joined together, each link adding weight onto her shoulders and stoking the pire in her gut. But that didn't matter much. She didn't need a lot of titanium. When enough was back under her control, she spun to a stop, whirling about to face Bakugou as he flung himself through the air. Quick with her fingers, she melded the titanium together into a larger spear that floated at her side. As Bakugou dove for Nagi and she spun the weapon about herself, her hands moving in tandem to mirror his gruff movements and diverting his hands and subsequent explosions away from a direct hit. Admittedly hard but not impossible. Each time he dodged an attack of hers and used it to rush at a blind spot of hers, she retaliated, her hands moving to match with him and keep him from setting off another point blank explosion.

Nagi spun meticulously on her feet, each step meant to coordinate with another strike of her spear. Enough to draw him back and keep him from attacking. Enough to give Toru, Jirou, and Tokoyami time. Enough to get them to safety.

"Bakugou-kun, this is imprudent!" Iida shouted over the ruckus. Nagi couldn't believe she could still hear anything with the obnoxious ringing in her ears. "This unnecessary damage to the city and putting the others in harm's way is excessive. Not only that but Hagakure-kun and the others will reach the safety point before we do at this rate!"

"Like hell they will!" Turquoise eyes widened when a much larger explosion set off. That one, even with him being as far as she could keep him, packed more of a punch than the rest and threw her back. Staggering to her feet, Nagi separated the spear in two, each hand controlling one as crimson eyes settled on her. "It won't matter anyway. Beating Twinkles Toes is way faster than catching up to those idiots any way I see it."

The quip came out of her before she could stop it.

"What makes you think I'm gonna keel over without a fight?"

A feral smirk crossed his expression. Confused, Nagi's eyes dropped to his hands and her face drained of color at the sight of his grenade gauntlets blinking orange for a split second. His hands jolted fervidly in response. Such a tremendous explosion—it wasn't something she could dodge. She knew it. And so did he.

"Bakugou-kun, that's not an appropriate use of force!"

 _It's not._ That sensible part of her brain got gagged quick enough. And in spite of Iida's lame attempt to mitigate the situation, Nagi couldn't help the burning of her blood as adrenaline rushed through her veins and her bellowing pride as it goaded Bakugou otherwise.

"Bring it on, Firecracker."

The pin from his gauntlet unlatched from its safe. His smirk broadened. Grinding her teeth, Nagi locked her feet on the ground, clenched her fists, and steadied her spears. His vivid crimson eyes narrowed on her and his smirk turned lopsided.

"Those sticks ain't gonna do shit."

"We'll see about that," she responded brashly.

"Kid yourself all you want, Twinkle Toes." Bakugou laced his finger through the pin, and bellowed the moment he pulled. "Cause there's no way I'm losing to you!"

 _Click._

All at once, Nagi saw a bright flash of white. But it hadn't been the flash of the explosion that blinded her. Her own eyes painted her surroundings transforming it all into that bleak white. White shredded in static. Dark clawed shadows loomed through the white, pieces of something she couldn't grasp dizzying her. Her body shuddered from the distant memory of those shadows. Nothing concrete, but the quivering of her bones wasn't for nothing. From scraps that flashed amid the colorlessness, what she saw plain as day were a pair of eyes. Fiery, bright green and slanted pupils crazed and hellbent on her. Identical words spilling from their lips and resonating in her head.

 _"I'm not losing to you again!"_

Her voice unmistakably brimming with rage, desperation, and fear.

Nagi's fingers flinched. Her control wavered and her spears dropped lifelessly beside her as her eyes gawked at the spark in his gauntlet. Crimson eyes widened seconds before the explosion ignited and detonated. Turquoise saw the spark that ignited it but even so, she didn't move—she couldn't.

 _Move, move, MOVE!_

An abrupt, piercing pain shot behind her eyes. It prickled under her skin and tensed every muscle in her body. It urged her to move—forced her to. But her arms and titanium couldn't react quick enough.

They wouldn't guard her from the explosion.

The flares from the explosion swarmed towards her in the blink of an eye. The heat licked at her side and fingertips seconds before something struck her side. Too fast to make it out, Nagi only felt something forcefully shove her out of the way onto the asphalt. Metal dug into her arms, legs and face as it protected her from brunt of the explosion as it took its devastating course. When the destruction settled, her eyes fluttered and stared off vacantly at the explosion's wake. Unstable debris fell from buildings as the explosion sizzled out but nothing stopped the incessant ringing the bellowed in her ears.

She blinked a few more times as the prickling in her head ceded and as the ringing began to subside as well, she heard the muffled sound of her name shouted at her by a handful of panicked voices.

"Chitanko-kun, are you alright?" Iida pulled away, his armor visibly leaving bruises where it'd dug into her arms, and with eyes wide with concern, inspected every inch of her.

She blinked once more. "Alright?"

"Bakugou-chan's explosion, Nagi-chan." Tsuyu hopped over to her side. With one hand, she slowly lifted Nagi's arm. Nagi winced at the sting that traveled across her arm and gazed down at her skin lightly burned with black scorch marks contrasting against her tan skin. "If Iida-chan hadn't rushed to get you out, it would've gotten more than just your arm."

"Are you mental?" Mineta shrieked. "Why didn't you move out of the way?!"

Her brow furrowed, still dazed, and ignored her burns as she did their questions. Instead, she flexed her fingers, gently testing their motion. They were rigid but movable. If they moved now, she could've moved then before his pulled the pin. She could've controlled her titanium. She could've at least guarded from the brunt of the massive explosion.

 _So why didn't you?_

The ringing in her head sharpened on one side and she jerked her head from the pang, her hand shooting up to her ear in a useless attempt to stop it.

 **"TWINKLES TOES!"**

A part of her was baffled she could still hear Bakugou's raged yelling. Explosions set off not that far from her, but dazed as she was, Nagi couldn't readily react to them. By the time she lifted her head, she met the pure deep-seated wrath brimming from crimson irises as Bakugou leapt to her, shoving everybody else aside to reach her. He roughly snatched the collar of her jacket and hauled her up to yell in her face.

"What fucking kind of bullshit were you trying to pull!?"

"What—" His brusqueness didn't irritate her as much as her fingers not clawing his fist as hard as she was clenching them. "What are you talking about!"

"Your coward ass!" Beside them, the others shrieked and chastised him in an attempt to get him to stop. Needless to say how useless it was. Even Nagi could see that. There wasn't any stopping Bakugou from his fit of seething wrath. "I don't need to fight weak asses who don't take shit seriously!"

"I am, you idiot!"

"Bullshit," he hissed, his hold tightening and rustling her around. "You fucking froze."

The ringing in her ear grew louder and with it came, the stark pain at the back of her head. Ire bloomed from the back of her mind alongside it. Nagi bit down hard on her tongue and clenched her hand, this time putting enough force behind it to dig into his skin.

But no matter what insult or comeback she came up with, she couldn't bring herself to say them. Not when he was right to call her on her lies.

The sudden, high-pitched interference that came from their earpieces tore them away from one another and their argument. She hadn't thought it possible to hear anything anymore after that deafening sound, but as both held their ears from the aching, Aizawa's voice rung through, sounding quite fed up himself.

 _"The exercise is over. All of you come back."_

* * *

Nagi recoiled and jerked her arm away from Ochako who apologized while pulling the cool compress back that she'd tried placing on her burned arm. For the fifth time.

"Nagi-chan, we've gotta cool it down," she pressed.

Nagi grimaced but stretched out her arm in the end to let her do the job. Wincing but not retreating her arm this time, she hopped between her feet anxiously while Ochako took care of her burns and Yaoyorozu created more cold compresses for the other burns. Bakugou stood to the side, far from her, but despite this she could still sense the intense ire that emanated from him. Everybody could. That's why it didn't surprise Nagi much to see most of the class keeping their distance from him. Nobody wanted to stoke that particular fire and risk lighting the firecracker anew.

As Yaoyorozu pressed another cold piece of plastic against the side of her leg this time, Nagi didn't give it as much attention. Instead, she flexed her fingers again. They were much smoother now than a few minutes ago. That in itself said something though. Her mind reeled trying to figure what had stiffened her digits so out of the blue, but couldn't with Aizawa making quick work of reviewing their exercise. With aggravation so obviously directed at her and clear in his eyes.

"Bakugou." Mostly everybody flinched at the murderous intent that rose like wildfire at the call of his name. "Your usage of excessive force caused unnecessary collateral damage. Not to mention it could have harmed the very citizens you were trying to protect. What I have to say, I've said it before, and I won't repeat myself again."

With a click of his tongue, he looked away from Aizawa, clearly not on board with the criticism but agreeing with a low grumble all the same.

"Chitanko." _Here it comes._ Surely he noticed her freezing up. If Bakugou had, then he must have too. He would surely go for the jugular on that one. No doubt about it. "Your attempt to slow Bakugou down knowing how to limit his mobility was a valid strategy. However, fighting him wasn't. Learn to pick your battles, especially when you're charged with others."

When nothing else came, her brow knitted in obvious confusion. Before she could ask anything though, Aizawa pointed to the west side of the battlegrounds, telling them that they'd be using another part of the city to continue to exercise. Everybody went along with his instructions, but as she neared him, he stopped her by simply turning his body her way.

"You have a session with Suzume today, right?" Though she found the question odd, Nagi nodded. He returned the gesture, his expression pensive for a moment before he rapped his knuckles against her own. "Talk to her about what happened. We can't have you freezing every time something triggers you."

"I didn't—" That red glare of his stopped her mid-sentence. Nagi swallowed her outburst and turned it into a scowl instead. Aizawa took that for what it was and turned away to follow after the rest of the class.

Nagi was about to follow after them too when Bakugou shoved her shoulder as he passed by. This time, she didn't hold her tongue.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

His crimson glare over his shoulder said enough and he only rubbed salt on the wound Aizawa had opened with his words.

"Don't fucking bother against me again if all you're gonna do is quit halfway. I'm not here to deal with gutless, fuck-ups like you screwing around and half-assing things."

Bakugou didn't give her a chance to retort. Which was a good thing because, for once, she didn't have any comeback. Her knuckles turned ghastly white as she gripped the cold compress against her arm and watched his back recede with the rest.

* * *

 _"Don't fucking bother against me again if all you're gonna do is quit halfway. I'm not here to deal with gutless, fuck-ups like you screwing around and half-assing things."_

 **...**

* * *

The shiny red rubber ball flew in the air when Nagi threw it, its brightness an eyesore that served to distract her while Suzume looked through the pictures she'd given her. Nagi languidly laid on her usual chair, laying sideways to rest her back against one of the armrests and letting her legs rest over the other. The rubber ball fell into her hands close to her face as she caught it on its way down. Continuing with the mindless play, Nagi threw it again while Suzume continued to leaf through.

"I'm impressed."

"Thought I wouldn't do it?" Nagi caught the ball in her hands and waited instead for a change.

Suzume pursed her lips, obvious guilt plastered on her expression. Her lips at the cusp of a smile, she didn't take her eyes away from the photos all the same. "My apologies for that. You seemed so apathetic about it that I almost expected you not to bother."

Satisfied that she'd gotten her to apology, she chuckled bemused and tossed the ball halfway into the air.

"Not gonna lie. I almost didn't."

Suzume let out a soft scoff as she set aside another picture from the stack. From the corner of her eyes, Nagi eyed it and spotted the one she took of Midoriya. A few others where underneath it too, apart from the rest of the stack where she was placing the rest. As if she were picking her favorites out of the bunch. Nagi agreed on a few. Midoriya's mostly.

 _He's got a cute smile._

Suzume's smile vanished from her face after a moment, a rather more serious expression taking its place. For the first time since they started, Suzume lifted her jade gaze, melancholy plastered on her face as she met Nagi's.

"I'm sorry about our carelessness and what we allowed to happen at USJ."

 _That came out of nowhere._ Baffled slightly by the sudden outburst, Nagi let her gaze go askance as she focused back on her ball tossing. This time hurling it a little harder without meaning to.

"Not your fault those assholes snuck under your noses."

She ignored her quip and focused on something she deemed more important. "How are you fairing?" Nagi shrugged her shoulders, indifference clearly etched on her features and in the way she carelessly kicked her feet out.

"My ankle was the only casualty and it's doing alright. Recovery Girl didn't want to heal me all the way though." She lifted her leg straight up to show off the small bulge of bandages that was beneath her black, knee-high stockings. "She said it'd be better to straighten the metallic portions for now and let most my bone heal by itself. Basically only healed my actual bone to see how the metal aligning itself worked out."

"You sound like you didn't like that."

"A little. I went to her to be healed completely after all," she reiterated. "If I'd wanted a half-assed job, I would've just left and done it myself."

"But you understand why she did it, don't you?"

In spite of the headache it was, Nagi did comprehend why that was done. She knew how fickle her body was. Her health certainly was something that many who knew her worried about. Suzume most of all. It didn't worry her much though. She knew her limits better than anybody. It was one of the things she took out of fighting in the petri. The only useful thing, frankly. A broken bone here and there would heal with time. That didn't bother her. At least not as much as the fact that the so-called professionals babied her like they did despite knowing how her body was.

She wasn't fragile. And even if she broke, Nagi could simply put herself back together and keep going. It was how things had been. How they would continue to be, she was sure. But Nagi, knowing better than to tell her the truth to outright, gave Suzume the answer she wanted to hear even if she hated the sound of it.

"You're worried."

"We are," she admitted. "But that's not the only reason, Nagi. We don't want you to carelessly be throwing yourself in harm's way expecting us to make it better and think it normal."

 _Isn't it?_

She barely kept the words from slipping. Her silence didn't mean the question didn't remain though. For all intents and purposes, Nagi didn't do anything that any pro hero she knew wouldn't do. That in itself irked her a little. Why was she reprimanded for things pros did everyday?

The pout showed her clear distaste and at noticing it, Suzume changed the subject. Though not to one any more pleasant than the last.

"I can see you're healing well enough." She tapped some of the papers she had splayed across the table before her. Nagi only gave them a sidelong glance now, already having eyed them on her way into the office, but paid more attention to the rubber ball that flew higher in the air with each toss. "That Shouta hasn't sidelined you from heroics class tells me as much."

Nagi scoffed. "If he's stubborn enough to teach class in that Halloween costume, I doubted he would excuse me out of class for a busted ankle."

"If you're not feeling well enough to take part, you're allowed to refuse."

"Not a chance."

 _Especially not after what happened._

Suzume pursed her lips—hundreds of questions more than obviously swirling in that head of hers from her expression—but she decided to continue her previous train of thought instead. "You assure me you're well physically. Fine, I'll buy it. But how are you faring after what you saw?"

She caught the rubber ball once more, the brilliant red of it shielding her vision from the bright light overhead. "What ya mean?"

"The Nomu, Nagi—the so-called 'bio-engineered' weapon."

 _That fucking word._ The ball fell but before she could grab it, it slipped out of grasp. Nagi looked after it as it bounced off from couch and onto the floor, rolling away under the table and far from her. No more distractions closeby, her gaze lifted to Suzume who didn't seem the least bit bothered by what she said.

Saying she felt prodded at was putting it mildly. It was better akin to being some caged animal that Suzume expected would pounce at anybody who approached her enclosure. And here she was stupidly poking at her through the bars with a stick. No, not stupidly. Purposefully. Nagi never liked people who toed around her and honestly respected those who took her seriously. But she also didn't like feeling threatened. And Suzume had the odd ability to tread the thin line between the two masterfully. She hated how natural that came to her. Not letting any of that show, she laid back against the chair and stared at the ceiling instead, her fingers tapping her bracelets in time with the beating of her heart that she heard thumping against her eardrum.

"It was—mm...how to put it? I guess the word would be 'upsetting.' That sounds a little too heavy-handed though. It certainly was a bit of a shock to see one again, I'll give you that."

"I can imagine."

 _As if._

"It wasn't that bad." Nagi forced herself not to say aloud that little quip in her head lest it cause her problems. "All it did was throw me off my game a little. That's all."

"You don't have to be ashamed." Nagi's fingers twitched and the bracelet around her wrist dented under the pressure.

"I'm not." She quickly fixed the dent with a flick of her index finger. "It happened. Big deal."

"But it is," Suzume replied, not downplaying those words like she had. "For as long as they may seem, four years can be the same as four measly minutes when we seek to recover from psychological wounds."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Chun-chan." She was so adamant to prove her point that she whirled in her seat to sit properly on it, squarely facing Suzume. "I know nothing can happen to us anymore. The old man's in jail and he isn't coming out for the rest of his miserable life. Whatever he found went up in flames too. And after he got busted, hell if anybody will do what he did again. No one's _that_ stupid." The tapping against her bracelet became rapid, denting and undenting the metal over and over until she broke through it completely. Her turquoise gaze dropped to the bracelet and where the missing piece had been and simply elongated the rest to close the gap. It thinned the bracelet out but fixed it.

"I just hate that seeing one spazzed me out like it did."

"People respond to threatening stimuli differently, Nagi. Freezing when confronted with something we know is harmful or that reminds us of dangerous situations is normal." Bending down, Suzume picked up the rubber ball that ended up near her. She turned the toy in her hands every which way to inspect it. "It has a lot to do with our innate fight-and-flight response. We can fight tooth and nail against what we find terrifying or run away and avoid what hunts us altogether. We can fight, run, or a little bit of both. And depending on the situation and what our minds deem is the best course of action, our bodies respond in kind."

"Running away from that thing wasn't an option." Nagi knew that better than anybody. _So many fuck ups had to teach me something._ "I had to fight."

"But putting yourself in such danger won't do anybody any good. Least of all yourself." Suzume lifted the rubber ball to get Nagi's sight on it before tossing it her way. Nagi had no trouble catching it but kept her gaze locked on Suzume even after she did. "That's the first thing I want for you to avoid in any kind of situation that brings up such a feeling as the one you had at USJ."

 _So much for that._ Nagi scoffed and tried tipping back her chair. Once she found a balance so she wouldn't fall backwards, she threw the ball at the ceiling, this time hard enough for it to hit it and bounce back with force.

"It'll go away. It's done so before. And it's not like it'll happen again anyway. Those idiots that snuck in would be even bigger ones if they tried to do so now that U.A.'s upped their security."

"I agree with you on that front. But that doesn't mean that nothing won't trigger analogous responses like the one you had."

Her hand flinched slightly but before she could let Suzume see it, she threw the ball to hide it. Much harder this time and hitting the ceiling again. "Believe me, I won't let it happen a third time."

"A third?"

Nagi caught the ball as it fell, digging her nails into the rubber and wincing at letting that slip. _Guess there's_ _no closing that can of worms now._

"I kind of disassociated in heroics today."

Suzume took that in, taking a moment to do so before. Her jade eyes strayed and she spaced out as she collected her thoughts. "What happened?" Nagi shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Nagi." Her tone toughened but her features remained as unreadable as ever. And it started to get on her nerves pretty fast.

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth." Nagi didn't know what she hated more. The tough act she posed sometimes or when she showed sincere concern for her. Whichever it was, it certainly riled her and she didn't bother hiding it now.

"I don't fucking know, alright?" Heat sparked in her gut and her nails dug into the rubber far too hard for it to withstand it. The rubber ball ruptured in her grasp almost instantly. With a frustrated sneer, she turned upright on her chair and tossed the useless toy away in the trash bin. "I froze 'cause of something stupid an idiot classmate of mine said and I don't know why."

An awkward silence she couldn't stand filled the room instantly. What was worse, Suzume wouldn't look away from Nagi. That piercing look from her emerald eyes unnerved her. It wasn't menacing or alarming at all. Simply observant. She felt bare under her scrutiny. Nagi hated it to no end.

Her anger simmered on, cracking the sprightly guise she carried. Noticing this, Suzume's eyes dropped as she stood from her chair and walked to one of her shelves behind Nagi. She peered over the back of the chair, curious, and watched Suzume take a small ball much like the one she ruined and tossed it at her.

"What did your classmate say?"

Nagi caught the ball easily but pondered long about the question. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to repeat what Bakugou said. She didn't much care about that. But what she'd seen—those disjointed memories she couldn't place…

"He pissed me off."

Suzume chuckled while retaking her seat across from her. "You're changing the subject."

"Am not."

"I know talking about this can be upsetting," she said. "Frustration is a normal thing to experience in your case. But it can't be permanent."

"It was a fluke," she rectified. "It won't happen again."

"You say so and yet it has in both occasions. Allow yourself to humor me for a second." Nagi couldn't shake just how much Suzume was trying to nail this particular subject. She tossed the new rubber ball between her hands, not taking her eyes away from that penetrating, jaded gaze. "You're training to be a hero. There's a million things that can happen. Unexpected things that you won't be able to control nor predict no matter how hard you try. Things you will find yourself having to face—"

"What's your point?"

"My point is," Suzume set her jade eyes on Nagi and she stilled. "Do you want for that to happen when you're out on the field with so many people counting on you?"

Her strong grip slacked and the feeling from those times returned. So suffocating and strangling. She honestly didn't understand what she hoped to accomplish. Short of empathically shutting out those memories, Nagi didn't know what else Suzume could do. _You're good, Chun-chan, but not that good._ What Suzume said bothered her though. Nagi didn't want this—to learn so much and work so hard just to be done in by fear when it mattered most. By that ghost hand that crawled to snag at the back of her neck with cold, scrawny fingers or anything else. Nagi scratched at her nape and kicked up her leg onto the edge of the coffee table. When she saw the scar that had started to form on her ankle her train of thought suddenly stopped. The tattoo a mark of past ownership that she never bothered to hide or erase after the fact was now deformed by one single injury.

 _One you got from helping save others with a Quirk made to cause harm._

Nagi nodded, wringing a relieved sigh from Suzume and plastering a satisfied expression on her face.

"Then perhaps starting our work there is the most sensible step. Dealing with the innate responses will take time so we'll focus on the other part of the problem to begin with." Suzume scribbled on a piece of paper, the bright smile on her face lifting the mood in the room. "Now, I know it'll be hard with how much you like doing it, but let's try to avoid fighting with reckless abandon from now onward."

A cheeky grin came over Nagi as she took the change in stride. "Ain't that part of the job?"

"Not if you're doing it right." Her grin fell instantly at the jab. Suzume chuckled, and though bubbly, Nagi could tell the satisfaction that came from shutting her up like that. "And stemming from that, I hope to hear your visits to Recovery Girl becoming less frequent as well." Nagi blew a raspberry as she followed Suzume when she rose from her seat.

"We'll leave it at that for now. I'll see you same time next week?"

"Kinda have to."

Nagi tossed the ball between her hands a couple more times before throwing it Suzume's way. Catching it easily and with a small scoff, she passed the photos back to Nagi in return as both started making their way out the door. The bell hadn't rang yet, and if Nagi remembered correctly, they still had one last class before school ended. But when her gaze fell to the photos in her hands, a thought rose to her mind pushing that aside. Interest peaked, she turned to Suzume who busied herself tidying up the coffee table from scattered papers.

The thought that came took over easily, and the urge to know won over her indecisiveness and got her to say what was on her mind before she could even give it a second thought.

"Why'd you decide to become a hero, Chun-chan?" Suzumu looked over her shoulders, large jade eyes blinking owlishly and obviously taken aback by the question. The look made her cheeks flare almost instantly, embarrassed at her own gall for once. "N-Nevermind. Dumb question."

"No, it's—it isn't." Nagi screeched to a stop before she could get to the door and turned to her at hearing that. As taken aback as she, Suzume took a second to gather her thoughts, reaching back to the device behind her ear and its _clicking_ focusing all of Nagi's attention on it. "It's just that no one has asked me that in a long time. It's somewhat hard to put into words now."

"Really?" Some of the awkwardness vanished a little and it made Nagi fall into that sense of calmness she sometimes found in Suzume's company. "Anyone I asked seemed eager to spill the beans."

"I suppose it's easier for your young minds to recall such things."

"You're thirty."

"Half your age."

"Still young—are you changing the subject on me?"

"Of course not." The rosiness that tinted the tips of her ears said otherwise. _Why isn't she just honest 'bout it?_

"Why was it then?"

"Why are you asking this?"

For once, Nagi didn't try to hide much. Not just because she knew that Suzume would be able to tell if she lied but because if she lied and got caught, she'd be in big trouble.

"I've been asking around and gotten lots of different answers. I'm just curious to know what motivates them is all. You too, I guess."

"Curiosity is a good thing to have but I doubt you're asking just because." A gentle smile spread across her lips and she tapped her chin a few times. "I know you better than that."

 _Guess you do._ Turquoise eyes wandered down to her feet and towards the door, trying to figure out what to tell her before facing Suzume again.

"I'm having trouble figuring out what it means to be a hero. And I don't know what kind I'd be after, you know, this whole school-and-training-for-it thing you talked about."

Jade eyes widened before the edges of her lips tugged upwards slightly. Suzume closed the distance separating them and leaned back of the chair Nagi had just been sitting on. Her smile turned into a taut, pensive line as her gaze wondered. Gentle but also sort of...melancholic.

"When I was around your age and attending school, I recall thinking that I wanted to help others that were going through hardships."

Nagi's brow furrowed at the abstract idea. "Hardships?"

"Yes." Humming a little under her breath, Suzume turned the dial of the device a few more times before her voice stopped and she spoke again. "You know my specialty is rescue and recovery services. It's something that comes naturally to me because of my emotion manipulation. But aside from my Quirk, being a hero that helps ease the pain of others and aids them in surpassing their personal ailments is something I've grown both fond and proud of. It's been what calls to me ever since I was young."

"What do you mean, calls?" The only answer she gave was a nod that didn't quite answer her question. Nagi pursed her lips as she tried processing what that meant exactly. When nothing came to mind, she exhaled and pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You're weird, Chun-chan."

"Perhaps what we see as sensible ideas become rather ludicrous in the eyes of another." She motioned at Nagi with a simple gesture of her hand to come forward. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your reason for wanting to become a hero?"

"No pointing fingers back, Chun-chan. That's cheating."

A hearty laugh left her before those jade eyes locked with hers. "It's quite the simple question actually. Rest assured that nothing leaves this office. Whatever you tell me stays between us."

Nagi was well aware of that. Suzume always reminded her of that little fact whenever her intent was to have her open up. Nine times out of ten it never worked. Today felt like that rare tenth.

"I'm not...entirely sure."

"Surely you have some sense of what you want to stand for," Suzume prodded.

Funny thing— _or not_ —was that she didn't. It's why she kept asking: to get some sort of idea of what the right reason would be. But she had a feeling that Suzume wouldn't stop asking if she didn't get an answer so she went with the one that Yori usually defaulted to.

"Justice, I guess?"

What sense of peace and humor there was between them vanished alongside Suzume's calm demeanor. It was a whole change of personality that happened at the drop of a hat; one so complete that even if she'd been blind, Nagi swore she would have still felt how the air became heavier. It worried her, but certainly not as much as what Suzume said next.

"I'd be careful of that mindset if I were you."

"...what?"

The sudden somberness was a drastic and strange change in itself. The warning that came out of nowhere sounded akin to rambunctious sirens in Nagi's head. It froze her in place as it permeated from those jaded eyes, giving her a look she had never seen before. Instinctively, her gut twisted, sensing her discomfort and wrenching words out of her mouth.

"What makes you say that?"

"What you experienced could have very well skewed your sense of justice. It could lead you to neglect many things you wouldn't otherwise and even drive you to commit deeds that you yourself may not fully agree with. Trust me, you would do well to be rid of that idea."

In the span of a single moment, a headache bloomed right behind her eyes. Almost like something punctured her brain from the inside and was pushing through her skull. The pain was subtle despite that, spreading to the side of her head with mild discomfort. Ire flooded her mind just as suddenly, urging her to reply.

To refute.

"That's not true." Her words came out forced, low, and through gritted teeth. It was hard containing the fury that gathered and erupted so abruptly. Every word that left her lips only piled more onto it. And it was too much to contain. "You don't get to tell me how to feel."

"You're right. I don't." She held her chin and part of her cheek pensively but that jade look never lost its steeliness. "But I won't let you blindly dive into it either. Acting on such warped mentality can only lead to more misery. Of that I can assure you."

Nagi scoffed, a part of her not completely believing her words while the other couldn't dismiss them either.

"Oh, really?" Her voice dripped sarcasm and venom tinged her words without her even realizing. "What would you suggest then, Dr. Shishio?"

The title drop was abrupt and more contemptuous than anything but Suzume didn't miss a beat.

"Don't trust that sense of justice." Nagi's eyes narrowed at the slight locking of Suzume's jaw and followed her hand as it immediately reached back behind her ear to turn the dial several times. Nagi couldn't decide what noise was more aggravating: the clicking of the gears or Suzume's patronizing words. "Find something more concrete to live by. Something you'll believe in no matter what. And that in the end won't have you regretting the choices you make because of it."

* * *

" _Surely you have some sense of what you want to stand for."_

 **Justice is Yori's thing and I stand with them. But as for me…I'm just tired of losing what's important to me.**

* * *

Groaning deep in her throat, Nagi pressed the heel of her hand over her left eye socket, grimacing as the pressure gave way to a throbbing pain. A headache? _More like a damn migraine_. At least that's what it felt like. It came so suddenly that it caught her off guard, loosening her mouth and making her words much snappier than usual. Nagi hadn't meant to snap at Suzume either. Sure, what she said annoyed her but not to the point that she would bark so harshly at her. She didn't think so anyway.

 _Guess she got more under my skin than I thought._

The pressure sent mild waves of pain across her skull but also lessened it somehow. Stupid logic but who was she to complain when it helped. Mingling voices created a cacophony that rang in her ears and ignited the throbbing anew. Mumbling under her breath, Nagi cursed whoever was making so much noise but stopped dead in her tracks the moment she turned the corner back to the classroom. The whole hallway—blocked.

 _What in the hell?_

"What's going on!?"

It took a moment for her to recognize that voice as Ochako's. Understandable when she couldn't see past the first couple of people too. Even jumping to try and see over them was useless. She blew a raspberry after landing on her feet, her irritation mounting every passing second they didn't let her through. Quickly fed up with this and everything else that happened during the day, Nagi braced herself and shoved her way through the crowd. Some instantly cried out in protest obviously displeased as much as she was. Others quieted down the moment they noticed who she was and where she was headed. It caught Nagi's eye but not enough to take away from her ever-growing annoyance.

"Make way, make way—let me through, damnit!"

Her arms pushed through a couple people and landed her behind a few more just in front the opened door to the classroom. _Just let me get my shit and get out!_ But as she tried pushing her way through one last time, another student cut her off.

"Gotta say, I'm a little disillusioned if this is what you're offering." All Nagi saw from her vantage point was a bushy mess of purple hair. And his height. She cursed her stature under her breath and him alongside it as he babbled on. "There's quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?"

His brashness was unexpected though. Almost like he was daring them in some way. It reminded her of Bakugou for some reason. And that enticed her to hassle him for a rather obvious reason.

"The school has left those of us a chance." He rambled on, rather serious as he set his attention fully ahead at whoever stood in his way. "Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And by the sound of it, may also transfer people out."

 _So he's scouting out the enemy?_ Bull-eye's. Well, sort of.

"I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war."

 _Is it now?_

"Then I hope you've got the wildest walk out there to back that pretty talk of yours, bushhead, 'cause ain't no one bumping me out of my spot."

Countless stares turned to Nagi all at once. Surprisingly, the attention didn't bother her as much. Surely riding on the anger high from her session had something to do with that. Going with it, she held her head high and crossed her arms across her chest, puffing it out as well as the purple haired boy turned sideways to look at her. Nagi huffed, determined to stand her ground against his so-called declaration when a loud holler startled her

"Hey, hey!" Nagi cringed at the shouting that came so close to her out of nowhere and practically leaped at the opportunity to butt in. "I'm from Class B next door. Heard you guys fought some villains so I came to hear 'bout it. But all I'm seeing are a bunch of arrogant bastards! You better not make fools of the hero course at this thing!"

 _Arrogant bastard? Moi?_

It kind of made sense if she thought about it. _But I'm one of the bastards, who's the other?_ Tiptoeing to peep behind bushhead let her see exactly who that moniker got attached to and she scoffed. Of course it'd be Bakugou. Unlike the rest of her classmates though, he didn't seem fazed by any of it. He strode forward and began shoving people around without much preamble or care. It was when his crimson gaze fell on Nagi that his somewhat neutral expression turned fowl and he sneered.

"I don't give a crap about that. I'm heading for the top, so why should I care?"

That curt reply was all he gave before leaving. As he left a crowd of rightfully pissed off students behind, they began focusing their attention on the rest of them. Something Nagi noticed almost instantly by the twisting of her gut and tingling on her nape. They were all watching closely.

The air around her thickened from their heavy gazes. She was tempted to ask for a knife to cut it with but her voice failed her. It got cut short the moment she met the droopy eyes of that purple bush. The indigo stare that pierced through her unsettled Nagi. Reminded her of someone she didn't dare namedrop just in case it summoned him somehow.

As soon as that thought came it left as did he. And though the crowd remained, none of them were as vocal as the guy from class B or as purple bush had been. That in itself left her in peace to get her stuff and get the hell out.

 _God, I hope tomorrow is better than the shit show from today._

* * *

Gears.

They ticked every second of every hour of every day.

It was a sound she grew numb to after years of having it so close to her ears. And because she couldn't just take it off without endangering others, Suzume could only remove it in certain places where she knew few people, if any, would be at. Home was a sure bet; she lived alone after all. Another was her office in Hosu, especially so late into the night and after her evening patrols. Days like these—when her sidekicks were already long gone and she was left to her own devices—she lounged freely in her office, tossing the device aside haphazardly. On one hand, the ticking stopped and would let blissful silence flood her senses.

On the other, that silence never lasted long.

Though it captured nothing permanently, Suzume could still sense the people strolling along the streets five stories below. Their emotions—the joy at the end of a long day, the frustrations with the same or their longing to see those they miss. Those and many more brushed against her senses softly but because of the distance separating them were more akin to waves harmlessly ebbing and flowing and barely grazing or mingling with her own. They didn't smother her like most everything else did. They just were. Completely unique and separate from her own. Being alone was truly the best when all she wanted was to be in touch with her own emotions.

The dissonant and sudden sound of her ringtone broke her out of her trance and brought her attention to her blaring phone. Groaning, Suzume found herself answering the call all the same.

"Hello?"

" _You're done with patrol?"_

Aizawa's weary voice brought a tender expression to her features almost instantly. Leaning against her desk, she typed away to log onto her desktop while holding her phone against her ear with her shoulder.

"Yeah, though it took longer than I thought it would. There's been a bunch of petty crimes going around recently."

" _I heard that more villains have popped out since USJ."_

The blaring horns of distant cars brought her to turn about and stare out the windows that overlooked the city from her office. She didn't need her Quirk to tell that even this late at night, Hosu was still the same lively city that it was during the daytime.

"We've noticed that too. The attack must've given them some incentive to come out from hiding. That or it's just springtime for them." Out of nervous habit, she brushed her fingers across the polished surface of her desk over and over. "How are you, by the way?"

" _Fine. Recovery Girl said that with a few more treatments I should be more than fully recovered."_

"You really shouldn't rush things."

" _I'm not. If I were, you'd be seeing me without the bandages by the festival,"_ he paused briefly. _"Speaking of, did you talk to her today?"_

There wasn't a need for her to ask who he was referring to. "Unlike what either of us thought, she didn't skip out on me today."

" _Never said she would."_

"Guess only I got that impression from what you told me then."

A musing hum came from the other side. _"What did you feel?"_

"A mixed batch of apathy and lividness."

" _Same old story then."_

"Almost," she said. Grabbing a pen that had been lying around, she traced random patterns on her desk as she spoke. "At first I thought the same as you but then it changed to something I hadn't felt from her since we met her."

" _To what?"_

"Interest."

Aizawa fell silent for a moment, _"It's something then."_

"It is." Rage and apathy she understood, but that level of genuine curiosity that Suzume felt prodding at her from Nagi when she asked her oddly particular question was truly unexpected. And most importantly, a development. "It turns out you were right too. Helping her apply to Yuuei was the best thing we could have done after her arrest. I've sensed much more in her these past few weeks than I have in the past year."

" _I had my doubts about whether it would be the right place for her, but I'm glad to hear I wasn't all that wrong."_

"Far from it. Thanks to you and Principal Nezu's insistence we've managed to mold Ikari's rehabilitation to her needs. And though I had only planned for Yohei's possible addition this year, I'm glad he didn't dismiss Nagi's application because of it."

" _Precedent existed so I guess he thought one more wouldn't be much of a difference."_

She chuckled at his nonchalant optimism but it dried up when whispers came to life low in her head. She reached back to touch the back of it, her fingers gently caressing the couple of orifices no larger than her pinkies. The voices were starting to return after a few minutes without her earpiece— _faster than before_. Despite that, their volume wasn't as obnoxious. Especially not when compared to her elation at this breakthrough.

Nonetheless she couldn't help hissing when another sharp pain struck her.

" _Your earpiece is off, isn't it?"_

She chuckled to hide a wince. "Y-Yeah."

" _You shouldn't do that."_

"You have it on all day, every day, and _then_ tell me that again."

" _Have they gotten worse?"_

Her lips pursed pensively.

"It's hard to tell. Sometimes they just whisper and others they're yelling at the top of their lungs. Quite deafening, I might add. Oh, but I'm numb to the emotions that accompany them so that's good." Suzume let out a bubbly laughter. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted the small jumping number on her email icon on her desktop and clicked it so that it would start opening. Lousy as the connection was, though, it was taking longer than it should and she turned her attention back to their phone call meanwhile she waited. "I look at it on the bright side, at least I'm not bursting into tears or flying into fits of rage at random."

" _You can't just ignore it, Su."_

Those stern words sobered her up quickly and upturned the corners of her lips into a feeble smile.

"I know," she said. Her fingers unconsciously brushed across the keys of her computer as she stared out into the vibrant city beyond her lonesome room. "But it's not like I can do much about it either."

 _No one can._

A tinge of bittersweetness in her expression slipped easily from her with no one around to see. When her eyes wandered to the clock in her office though, the melancholy vanished as she let out a startled gasp that Aizawa promptly questioned.

"Sorry. I just remembered Satsuki wanted to have dinner today."

" _On a work night?"_

"Well, you know us." Not bothering to change out of her hero costume, she scurried for her things, swiping them up on her way out the door. "We don't really mind time anymore."

" _You certainly don't."_ A mildly amused scoff came from the other line, one Suzume joined with a chuckle of her own. He was quick to recover his usual soberness, though the tone behind his words belied his intentions. " _Just do me a favor and take care of yourself. There won't be any helping others if you can't do that first otherwise."_

Suzume stopped short, her finger set to turn off the lights in her office for the night, to let his words sink. She leaned against the doorway, sighing a long, heavy breath through her nose.

"You know, sometimes I..." Her lips pursed shut almost instantly and didn't allow her any leeway to say what she wanted.

" _Yeah?"_

"I just wanted to say thank you, Shouta. For helping me with them. And for what you're continuing to do for her too."

There was a brief pause on his side that she wished weren't there.

" _She's a bit of a scamp but certainly not hopeless. Besides, what I do isn't much compared to your work. I'm sure you'll manage to pull her through this, Suzume, just like you've done for the others."_

"I hope so too." Turning her back on the office, she flicked the switch and let the darkness engulf it whole. "You should go ahead and get some rest, Shouta."

As the tapping of her shoes receded out of her office and into the hallway, one lone light remained on in the former room. The fluorescent, white hue from her computer's monitor gleamed in the dark as her emails finally finished loading. A listing of the unopened ones appeared first and one in particular stood out at the top of the list.

 **Subject: In regards to Nishida Chiyoko's passing.**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **FINALLY FINISHED! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT TOOK THIS DAMN LONG FOR ME TO GET THIS DONE! Not only was I short on time (and still am) but I had to cut what was supposed to be ch8 into two and that just opened a whole can of worms that made writing this whole chapter even longer! But regardless of that, I'm here! I'm back, somehow still alive and ready to keep writing. School's out in a few weeks which will be loaded af for me. Thankfully, I have like 3/4 of the next chapter already written which will make the writing process for that one so much shorter! Originally I planned to do a double update but I figured to give you guys one bite here and then another in a couple of weeks! :D**

 **Now, I know it's been a while since I last update here and that I usually thank each and everyone of you who's joined in on this story by name. Today, tho, I'm gonna keep this sweet and short. Mostly because I'll be doing a super, duper thank you shout out next chapter :) That doesn't mean I'm not thankful right now, tho. Far from it, there's been so many people who've favorited and followed this story since last chapter that I'm elated beyond words. You guys are all amazing and I hope to keep churning them chapters out once my two month vacations start. Fingers crossed!**

 **For now, I'll leave things at that. Thank you again, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update that'll be (hopefully) in the near future!**

 **Lots of hugs and loves,**

 **\- Evie**


	9. Lead

**ix.|Lead**

— _Silvery with a hint of blue when freshly cut only becoming a dull gray after being exposed to air. This metal is denser than most with soft and malleable qualities. However, because of its high toxicity, its usefulness is greatly diminished. Derived from its Latin name 'plumbum.'_

* * *

 _Children fear many things._

 _Nagi learned this one night when she ran from her room and to her father's study where she found him. Scared out of her mind by nightmares, he eased her fears by rationalizing them away._

 _Children feared things they imagined in the dark of their rooms at night, he would say, while the moon—their only source of comfort—betrayed them, casting terrifying shadows. Light created monsters out of branches, their long crooked fingers stretching from the outside into the room without even needing to open a window. Their finely curved nails scratched at the glass just as a sinister howl blew outside. They feared the beasts and unknown beings that lurked underneath the dark of beds or within closed closets—places they dared not search lest that same unknown came to get them. The places where claws and tails slithered to when they were spotted just out of the corner of their eyes._

 _But just the same way that there were so many things to fear, there were also many ways to hold sway over them. Some kids, he said, muttered away, regurgitating the reasons their parents said to convince them that the monsters hiding under their beds or inside their closets weren't real. Some took what they considered a valiant stand and obstructed any entrance those monsters could use to come in and haunt them. Others like her sought harbor in those they loved most where they knew no monsters could torment them. Where no harm could touch them._

 _Nagi learned during nights like those what it meant to be afraid. She learned her way to reign it in. And for her, reciting aloud helped her not be so afraid._

 _It was the sound of the familiar that made dealing with the great unknown a little more bearable. Anything worked, she figured, so long as she could repeat it over and over again. Lyrics of songs her mom hummed under her breath; jokes her dad told that were never funny; even the many great taglines of her favorite heroes. It became a habit, one that helped when she needed it most._

 _And during the times when she was the most afraid—those spent in poorly lit, white rooms where she was left to cry herself to sleep in agonizing pain—she recited names._

 _At first, there were only three: her parents, Hiroyuki and Kaya, and her little brother, Yuuta._

 _But as the days bled on, she met new people. Remembered new names. Sadly, many of which she forgot as they themselves began disappearing. It saddened her to see fewer familiar faces as those days went on and even more that the list dwindled, their names becoming distant alongside them. Yet she recited what few she had like an endless prayer on repeat and let the overwhelming emotions be quelled by them to give her some peace of mind._

 _If only for a while._

 _Her parents, Hiroyuki and Kaya. Her little brother, Yuuta. The other children: Izumi. Hari. Chiyoko. Hachu. Touke. Ikari. Yohsei._

 _And Yori._

* * *

A stifled yawn lasted a few moments before Nagi let it out unhindered. Her eyes watered a bit and she wiped at them as she made her way through the crowded hallways still half asleep despite it being somewhat early. _Damn nightmares_. They hadn't stopped sense the day before and had her tossing and turning and waking up at random hours of the night. That she couldn't sleep well wasn't even the worst of it. Cutting it close but never close enough to homeroom was. With it being already the third day in a row and Aizawa sufficiently fed up with her tardiness, she was back on mule duty for the day.

Thankfully, Midnight's class was just after lunch which meant printouts were the only things really needed for class. Twenty-two copies were feather light compared to the weight her tiredness slumped onto her shoulders. Now _that_ was heavy.

 _I'll catch a wink before heroics._

The mere idea of it got her yawning again and this time she didn't bother covering it. Nagi wasn't sure if it was her drowsiness or just her damn luck when halfway through the yawn her grip on the papers slackened and a few flew out of her grip. She yelped and dove to catch the but most fell before she even got close and swayed to the floor silently. Nagi went about picking them back up, cursing at her clumsiness as she did so, when a loud crash suddenly made her jump in her own skin. Stopping dead in her tracks, she held the papers to her chest along with her thundering heart to keep it from leaping out. It wasn't until she spotted the slightly ajar door to her right that she let herself sigh in relief. A peeved expression crossed her face and she frowned at the sign that read 'staff room' overheard.

 _Thanks for the heart attack._

"What's the matter?"

She perked to attention, conditioned by Aizawa's voice but the the sudden weeping blindsided her. Mostly because she recognized whose voice it was despite it being broken up by hysteric sobs.

"Oh, god, no…"

The pain in her voice was more than evident. And the sound of such thing coming from Suzume was strange. It worried her, honestly. Nagi stepped closer to the door unconsciously, standing just out of eyesight beside the slightly open door.

"Suzume, what happened?"

Nagi recalled hearing Aizawa that serious and leveled when she was younger. Back when he came along with Suzume for her checkups at the hospital. She knew what concern sounded like coming from him. Whatever it was must've convinced Aizawa that it was just as much of a delicate matter as hers had been. Nagi pressed herself closer against the wall before shuffling closer to the door, curiosity piqued even more.

"O-One of the children, Chi-Chiyoko." Nagi's brow instantly furrowed. That name—she hadn't thought of it in years. "She…j-jumped—off a building. S-She—at the hospital, she...p-passed away.""

Everything came to a screeching halt.

 _...what?_

All at once her breathing stopped. Turquoise eyes grew wide as a pressure in her chest grew, choking the air out of her. Her knuckles turned ghastly white as her grip on the papers tightened and crumpled the print-outs. Beneath her, she could feel her legs quivering yet somehow managing to keep her standing.

In the blink of an eye, everything stopped and lost its hue. Everything turned black. Then, in a flash, it all turned white. Bluish gray tiles became flawless ivory. Windowed walls vanished, morphing into alabaster walls. Her surroundings became bigger, engulfing her whole and imprisoning her. Then, out of the blue, the soft pattering of feet came to her ears. A small child came into her view and stood before her—one whose face she couldn't recall clearly. The mere realization of that floored her and twisted her insides into a mess of entrails.

Tear streaks marred the child's cheeks. Bandaged arms reached up to wipe at her face as she cried and _cried._ But those sobs suddenly stopped and began to change color. Nagi's breath stopped short as the clear drops that had been streaming down her cheeks turned scarlet. At taking away her hands, Nagi couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight—so clear and so vivid now that it was stained in blood.

Large doe eyes stared at her with not a touch of emotion in them. No anger, no apathy, no hatred. Only a vacant soullessness that chilled Nagi down to her bones. Those stained lips twitched and Nagi felt herself flinch as her gut twisted further at what she saw.

Her lips moved but no sound came.

But Nagi didn't need to hear her say it.

The sudden sound of the bell was like a punch to her gut. She gulped in air after the initial hit but it felt heavy. Stifling. All color returned to her world in the blink of an eye. And everything that had come with the colorlessness vanished in turn. A ringing in her ears remained as she struggled to steady her breathing but there wasn't any time to fully snap out her stupor. Her head snapped at the clamoring footsteps from the staff room and in a panic, she fled. Taking the stairs, she climbed higher and higher. Normally at first, then stumbling on the steps two by two. Clumsily she climbed until finally reaching the top and pushing through the door, taking a sharp inhale the moment the air hit her face.

Warm, spring air.

Her eyes instantly shot up to the sky to see the clearless blue that stretched as far as her eyes could see. Beyond the fenced roof, she saw the city that spread farther ahead. Needing to grasp onto something she made the short way to it, dropping the printouts carelessly and gripping the metal links between her fingers tightly. Her skin tingled where the metal touched, a flame sparking to life in her stomach and warming it as the feeling spread. Far easier than she'd wished, she tore at the fence as if it were nothing but damp paper, leaving a gaping hole in the fence. Her view unhindered, she took in the widespread of the city below her.

 _The same city Chiyoko must've seen when she—_

Nagi choked on the bile the rose up her throat, a hand shooting up to stop it from briming out of her mouth. Her fingers slipped from the metal, melted links slipping like water on oil, as she turned and leaned her back against it. She slid down until she hit the floor, her hands falling to her sides defeatedly as her mind idled. The sudden crumpling of paper beneath her caught her ear and she gave a sidelong glance to the printouts near her feet.

A few were stepped on, others crumpled, but they were all there.

All twenty-two of them.

The second warning bell rang and the sound sounded muffled to her ears. Almost as if she were inside a bubble separate from the world. Ever so faintly, it still reached her. Practically beckoned her.

 _It's time to go_ , it said. _You have work to do_ , it said. _There are still others that need you_ , it said.

And there wasn't any time to waste grieving.

Nagi shuddered and snatched the paper closest to her. Rising, she picked each and every one of the scattered papers before making her way back to class. The embers continued to burn like a hearth in her gut as she made her way down the stairs. It was unmistakable, that scorching sensation of helplessness.

" _How disappointing your uselessness is."_

Nagi bit down on her lips hard and lowered her head.

 _Don't think about it._

* * *

"I was warned about your tardiness, Chitanko-kun, but I doubted I would have to deal with it in my class."

Nagi gripped the printouts against her chest and her stomach turned with all those eyes staring at her. She didn't think that Midnight meant to put her on the spotlight like that but being late to class while she was on duty understandably raised questions.

Ones she didn't want to answer.

 _Don't think about it._

Forcing a half-assed grin, Nagi chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her neck. "I'm sorry, Midnight-sensei. I must've spaced out and missed the bells."

Midnight cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. Nagi tried her best to hide from behind the stack of printouts she raised. Thankfully, after a long chiding look, Midnight tapped the podium for her to leave the papers and Nagi did so without a word. That didn't save her from one last reproach.

"Make this the one and only time, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am."

A smile came to Midnight's face as she waved her to her seat. Free at last, Nagi took the hint and stumbled over to her desk, slouching back on her chair the moment she sat down. She thanked than Midnight continued her class without further ado too and tried focusing on what the lecture. But her mind wasn't having it.

The image of Chiyoko and her words haunted her. It demanded her attention. It wanted to be heard. Nagi wanted nothing to do with it.

 _Don't think about it. Don't think about it._

Her fingers tapped away as she forced herself to listen to Midnight prattle on and on about modern hero arts. But the more she tried, the more she couldn't help letting her mind wonder.

Letting it think.

" _One of the children, Chiyoko. She jumped off a building. She passed away at the hospital."_

Chiyoko's blood stained lips came to mind along with the words she so clearly mouthed.

" _You did this."_

Guilt wracked her and she laid her head down on her desk to hide her face as her thoughts ravaged her. Unconsciously, her fingers tapped at the slick surface, her feet doing the same against the tiled floor.

" _It's for the best."_ She remembered Yori telling her as much when she argued on the contrary. _"This way, they won't be involved. They'll get to live their lives and we'll clean up the mess."_

The hearth burning in her twisted her guts further than the guilt. The fire burned hotter and hotter as her fingers and foot struck faster against her desk and ground. A guttural groan she didn't hear rose from below, the floor trembling slightly beneath her feet.

Leaving them out of it was supposed to help. It was supposed to be how she and Yori would protect them. And yet—

" _You did this."_

 _What the hell have I been doing all this time?_

A shudder shook her entire body as the flames scorched her body whole, striking her with pain. It wasn't until she heard her classmates' hectic cries that she realized what was actually wrong.

It wasn't just her that shook.

"W-What's going on?" Ochako called out as her desk rattled alongside everybody else's.

"An e-earthquake?!" Mineta's shrill exclaim pierced her ears, the shortstack slithering beneath his desk without trouble nor warning.

Nagi barely made out Hagakure shrinking into her seat from how her uniform crumpled into itself. "I-Isn't it too strong?"

"Children, quickly and calmly stand from your desks and—"

Nagi's chair screeched when she shot up gripping at the edges of her desk as the hearth died in one stroke. The moment it died, the shaking halted and all noise quieted along with it. Her ears rang till and she struggled to catch her breath even after it all stopped. Centering on her notebook as it laid skewed on her desk, Nagi focused her blurry vision on it to ground herself but as she did, something warm dripped from her nose.

The small drop splattered against the white sheet of paper in a mix of deep crimson and silver. Her eyes widened at the sight of it and her hand immediately sprang to cover her nose as it bled on, the warmth of it coating her fingers.

"I-I'm sorry." Her mumbling wasn't made any better by her hand covering her mouth. But she didn't care. She could feel them coming—not just the blood. Her eyes stung too. And that wasn't something she would let them see.

It wouldn't be something she'd let them hold over her.

"I'm...I'm not f-feeling so good." The silence made it easier for Midnight to hear her and Nagi thanked god for that. "May I g-go to the nurse's office?"

Midnight couldn't do anything except nod. Nagi sprinted off the instant she did, zigzagging through the desks on the back in her rush to reach the back door. Even as quick as she was, she still felt their stares. Needles pricking her slowly, pryingly, wanting to know more. Wanting to know what happened. Wishing to know why.

 _Stop._

Sprinting through empty hallways gave her a clear way to Recovery Girl's office. And thankfully, the old lady wasn't in. Her eyes scanned the office before taking a gauze from a nearby cabinet and pressing it against her nose to staunch the bleeding. Nagi took a couple more as she made her way to the farthest bed and drew the curtain along the railing to close herself off from the rest of the room. To give herself a small space of her own apart from the rest of the world. A place where she could be alone, where no one would see her.

It was only when she had that that the tears sprung free. Nagi choked on her tears a little, her nose unable to help her breathe as she spent herself in tears.

Her mind reeled with everything that she couldn't help think about. Chiyoko. Herself. The others. Yori. A handful still alive yet how many…

How many were like Chiyoko? How many more were holding onto the ledge ready to let go at the reminder? At the mere thought that they could all go back to the hell they had lived through.

Something told her that had to be the reason. God knows it almost did her in too. It was impossible to forget. A heaviness so tangible and engulfing that it wouldn't let her breathe, wouldn't let her drink or eat, and most of all wouldn't let her forget. Not a day went by where the memories, spotty as they were, wouldn't cross her mind during her waking hours or in nightmares. Not a day went by that her vision wouldn't tinge rooms a stark white in the blink of an eye and leave her stranded. Not one second where she wouldn't hurt herself, accidently or otherwise, by the titanium in her bones reacting and cutting through skin leaving her a bloody mess. Those kinds of moments when she would scratch at the open wounds and relieve those nightmares was when Yori would come to gently take her hands in his and soothe her fractured mind.

" _It's alright,"_ he would say, touching his forehead to hers as he gently rubbed at the wounds he bandaged. _"You're safe now. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."_

Somehow, Yori talked her off of that perpetual ledge and gave her a purpose. Gave her a reason to be and not regret it. They were the whole reason she thought living worthwhile anymore. Nagi didn't think the rest were anything like her. She thought their families or the people who loved them would be reason enough to stay.

 _So why, Chiyoko?_

Nagi felt her heart calm from the erratic rhythm it took with every reminder of her name. Sobbing still, she wiped at her nose, throwing the red and silver gauze in the nearby bin and use the next before she started muttering names under her shaky breath.

"Hiroyuki. Kaya. Yuuta."

Her hastened breathing lessened. Their faces, blurry but still there, came to mind.

"Izumi, Hari, Hachu, Touke, Ikari, Yohsei, Yori, Chi—"

 _There's one less name again._

A bitter laugh grew into tears at the awful reminder. One less name. Another one of them gone. She wondered about what would occur if all of them disappeared. Would they be forgotten too? Would they only be a mournful reminder of a tragedy no one saw coming? And that once seen and the initial shock subsided, no one would care for again?

She bit her lip tasting the blood that had dried there. Warm and metallic. A brittle voice left her lips as she pronounced each name.

"Hiroyuki, Kaya, Yuuta. Izumi, Hari, Hachu, Touke, Ikari, Yohsei, Chiyoko, Yori."

Nagi forced herself to remember. Forced herself to try and recall what Chiyoko's face had looked like. Not the bloodied little girl, but the girl that had survived. The one that wasn't with them anymore.

"Hiroyuki, Kaya, Yuuta. Izumi, Hari, Hachu, Touke, Ikari, Yohsei, Chiyoko, Yori."

But she bit her lip in frustration, tasting the blood that had smeared on her when she failed to recall it. It cruelly dawned on her then that all she could remember were names. Words that held no meaning without the person they represented. The thought tore at her, her grief igniting anew the hearth in her stomach and the tears she thought spent. The warmth of blood from her nose and the tears sprouting from her eyes didn't bother her anymore. Not when she couldn't even recall what most of their faces looked like.

All but a few and only one that she wished would be there with her. Wishing for that was useless though, especially with them apart. Not quite feeling like going back to class, Nagi hiccupped through her tears and rose to part the curtain intent on grabbing more gauzes to lie down with when the infirmary's door clicked opened.

Turquoise eyes blinked taken aback by the sudden appearance of a rather emaciated blonde man. The moment his dark sunken gaze fell on her, he stumbled apparently shocked himself that someone else apart from Recovery Girl was there.

"P-Pardon my intrusion, Young Ch-I mean, young miss."

Her eyes narrowed but whatever suspicion arose left her pretty quick when she felt the warmth of her blood slipping down her nose again. Rushing to the cabinet, she fumbled through the bins and took a handful of gauzes before pressing a couple to her nose and tipping her head slightly backward.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I-It's just a nosebleed."

His concern waned at the explanation but only slightly as his gaze focused elsewhere. "Surely it isn't just a nosebleed that would have you in tears."

Suddenly reminded of that, Nagi felt a sob escape her as she hurried to wipe the tears prickling the edges of her eyes. Sniveling to rid of the blood, she wiped at it more before tossing the gauze in the trash.

"It's really nothing, sir. Actually, it's gone now, so I'm just gonna go ahead to the staff room and call for Recovery Girl. Surely, she's the one you're looking for—"

Just as she said that, the man went off on a violent and loud coughing fit. The blood that instantly shot out from his mouth spooked Nagi almost shooting her heart straight out of her ribcage through her throat. Her hands fumbled with the extra gauzes in her panic before shoving them onto his chest. Through his fit, a smile tugged at the edges of his bloody mouth as he took the gauzes. Her erratic heartbeat settled slowly as he took a few moments to clean himself and turned to her.

"I apologize. It wasn't my intention to show you such an awful sight."

Unable to find her voice for a moment, she shook her head instead. Regaining it quickly, she snatched a nearby towel she spotted in the room as he busied himself with further tidying up in the nearby washbasin and waited. Once done, she readily passed on the towel that he took with a curt 'thank you' under his breath. But as he started coughing into towel too, Nagi hurriedly nudged a chair closer for him to seat on.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"I'll be just fine." Though he said it with a chuckle, it didn't do much to convince her. "I'm more troubled about whatever would have such a young, prospective heroine as yourself so downcast."

Her eyes widened a bit at the question but her skewed gaze dispelled it altogether. "Let me bring you another towel."

As she rifled through the cabinets in search of it, the squeaking of the chair took her attention. It was when she turned back that the man squarely had his eye on her, scrutinizing her to some degree. Yet the staring didn't turn her stomach as much as others. It was uncomfortable, yes, but not to that foul degree that made her skin crawl. It was different. Almost like he was trying to dig through a mound of dirt without so much as moving a finger. And the bright spot of blue that Nagi saw in those dark eyes of his sent a sense of something she couldn't quite describe.

"I've learned that when something is troubling me, regardless of its gravity, I find it comforting to talk to someone about it. It lessens the load. Perhaps it can do the same for you." He gave a tight-lipped smile that managed to reach his eyes. It gave Nagi that same, strange feeling. A familiar one. She sat herself down on a nearby chair, pondering about it when she felt the warmth of blood flowing anew.

She cursed under her breath as she reached up to cover it but just as she was about to, scrawny fingers handed back the towel she'd given. Turquoise eyes met blazing blue and he pointed at his own nose to draw attention to her fresh nosebleed. It was while she pressed the towel to her nose and kept their gazes locked that she found a word to describe it: _solace_.

Wiping the now crimson blood from her nose, her grasped tightened on the towel as a feeling bubbled in her chest undoing the knot her guts had become and urging her to say something. It didn't matter what.

 _Just...talk._

"I found out today that a friend of mine passed away."

The zeal that had tinted the man's blue eyes vanished instantly. She expected it. Something as awful as that would have anybody reeling back and trying to compose themselves. That certainly was the case for her as much as she hated to admit it. A somber expression came over the man's face. He lowered the towel from his mouth before facing Nagi, his eyes never leaving her sight.

"I'm sorry, child."

A taut line came over her lips, almost as if wanting to mimic a smile. It felt forced. Certainly practiced, bordering mechanic.

"I don't think I have the right to be sad about it."

"What would have you say such thing?"

"I stopped talking to a lot of people I knew years ago. She was one of them. I thought she would be better off that way. Now I hardly remember what she looked like. I...forgot about her." Her gaze dropped to the towel in her tight grip. Once clean and white now marred a dark crimson. "That's why I shouldn't be feeling sad about it. I don't think I get to feel anything to be honest. Not when I didn't care about her for this long."

"It certainly doesn't sound like you didn't care." Nagi's brow furrowed. Raising her head, she met the man's eyes once more and saw sternness. It was so unlike others she'd seen though. It wasn't surly like Aizawa's or canny like Suzume's. No, his was almost... _fatherly_. "On the contrary, it sounds like you very much cherished your friend."

"We weren't really friends." She said that through a dry chuckle that belied the knot that was starting to form anew in her gut. "They were just kids I knew."

Just a whole bunch of hapless kids that happened to have the same shit luck that she did.

"By the sound of things, you very much thought of them as friends even if you don't call them as such. But I think I can understand why you wouldn't. When we try to protect the people we care about, we come to distance ourselves from them."

"But it doesn't make sense." She hissed trying to keep from raising her voice. Her confusion mixed with newly boiling anger started to cloud her mind though and undid that restraint fast. "If you care about someone, you wouldn't leave them. You stay and protect them no matter what. That's what I should've done! And if I had, Chiyoko would still be alive!"

She rose from her seat before she knew it, her voice raising alongside her as her own mounting ire exploded. Not at him. At herself. Tears that had been pricking at her eyes finally rolled over, frustration spilling them down her cheeks. Seeing them brought back the solemnity in the man as he pondered. It wasn't until she spent her anger over in tears that he spoke.

"Then perhaps it could serve as a lesson."

"What...what do you mean?"

"Learn from your grief. Don't let go of what you cherish from now on. Hold onto it tight and protect it as you wish for it to be protected. Maybe that will give you some kind of peace of mind after today."

 _Peace of mind?_

This time not even the bell ringing broke her out of her train of thought as his words slowly sank into the quicksand that was her mind. The man glanced down at his watch before rising from his seat in a haste.

"O-Oh, goodness. I should get going." The somberness from before took a drastic change and he showed of a goofy smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry to bore you with an old man's babble. But try not to beat yourself over it so much. Things do get better. The grief doesn't go away but you learn to live with it after a while. And sometimes, that's the best we can do with these sort of things." Nagi's mouth opened and closed a few times still stunned by his impromptu words. It wasn't until she saw him heading out of the infirmary that she recovered and shot out of her seat.

"S-Sir, wait!"

Humming, he turned to look at her over his shoulder. All at once her mind blanked with just how many things spun in her head. So lost in her own thoughts, Nagi asked the one thing that knocked the loudest at her.

"Who are you?"

At that, the man chuckled and reached out, his lanky hand engulfing her head and ruffling her hair a few times.

"Just a man who likes bringing smiles to downhearted children."

The cheesiness of that line got a genuine chuckle out of her and he smiled in kind. Before she could ask him anything else, he left her to her own devices. For a few minutes, Nagi stood there pondering. About things she didn't want to think about. About things she couldn't help but think about.

And about his words.

" _Don't let go of what you cherish from now on."_

Nagi tilted her head as the second bell rang. She scanned the infirmary for the clock. Lunch had just started and hero basics would come after it. Taking a moment, she thought about what she wanted to do. She'd left the classroom thinking of just skipping the rest of the day but after having talked to that man, a new though came to her.

One that overrode the rest. _Hero basics doesn't sound so bad right now._

The few tentative steps she took to leave stopped short when she spotted herself in front of a mirror. Eyes puffy and red with streaks of tears lining her cheeks. Nagi nabbed a wet napkin from Recovery Girl's cabinet and forcefully wiped her face clean as her thoughts wondered.

" _You have a lovely smile, Nagi. It definitely suits you better than tears. So go on—"_

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Nagi raised her face, a smile pulling at her lips. A small one but it was a start.

" _Smile."_

* * *

 _I should've skipped._

That sour thought didn't disappear in the least as Nagi dawdled unamused at the bottom of the valley of a makeshift precipice at the newly reopened USJ. Yaoyorozu hadn't been kidding when she told get they'd be renewing their rescue training. Nagi just didn't think that the staff would have the nerve to put them back in the very place that they had just been attacked in a couple days prior. Aizawa didn't look reliable in the least with his mummy get-up, and though Thirteen was better off, she still felt like they weren't up to par if things were to get hairy like they did last time.

And by the varying looks on her classmates faces, it was quite obvious that none of them were all around convinced either. But it wasn't like they could lodge complaints either. She guessed that for now with the extra security that Yuuei implemented after the attack they'd be more secure at least. Still…

"What a fucking waste."

 _Ditto_. But instead of agreeing out loud, Nagi raised an eyebrow at Bakugou as he crouched down on the floor not far from her, grumbling to himself.

"You're awfully loud for an unconscious civilian, Firecracker."

"Fuck off, Twinkle Toes."

"Chitanko-san, Bakugou-san, if you would set aside your arguments for the moment." Yaoyorozu poised herself on the ground, back straight as she sat with one leg seemingly stiffer than the other. "We must give the proper attention to this exercise regardless of the role we were given."

Nagi wasn't so sure about that. For as much as she wanted to antagonize Bakugou for the hell of it—and to clear her mind of things—she also didn't see the point in being a faux casualty in an exercise. _We're training to rescue, not be rescued._ All that frustration left her as a long, drawn out sigh. Well, at least she was the 'worried' civilian and not the helpless ones like Yaoyorozu and Bakugou. As helpless as he could be anyway.

"Hurry the hell up already!"

"Aren't you supposed to be knocked out?" Sero's call down the valley echoed her previous statement and brought a grin to her lips that she flashed back at Bakugou.

At least it lifted her spirits to get on his nerves. And after the day she was having, Nagi would very much nag him to hell and back if it meant getting her mind off things for the time being. Remembering that they were in fact being scored for their rescues and injured roles, though, she thought she might as well play her role well too.

 _Time for a show._

"Heroes, please help us!" Nagi was at the cusp of a grin as she cupped her hands to her mouth and let her voice reach the top. "Our poor, poor princess has broken her leg and I'm over my head with worry for her wellbeing." She dramatically gestured her arm at Bakugou who was still crouching and fuming on the ground. "And though inconsequential—" Kicking back, she grazed Bakugou hard enough to make him fall backwards to a proper sit with a swift 'what the hell?!' to accompany it. Nagi skipped the few steps away from his grasp, palms crackling with the temptation of blowing her up to smithereens. "Our vicious, loudmouthed firecracker has fizzled out as well! By god, hurry! Please!"

Nagi heard the echoes of laughter from above that brought a smile to her face. Not even the threats from behind dampened her mood. Goofing around and enjoying something always made a situation better for her. Made them worthwhile staying anyway. And it helped.

Before long, Sero was lowered down alongside the gurney, his tape securing it well as it gently landed on the dirt beneath. He reciprocated the silly grin that she gave him before turning to Bakugou and Yaoyorozu.

"Guess Bakugou's first, huh?"

"Yessir," she called, balancing on her heels as she helped get the gurney to where Bakugou still sat, fuming. Leaning in, she whispered through a chuckle, "Don't drop him from _too_ high, okay?"

"If Plain Face drops me, you're getting it, Twinkle Toes."

Though caught, she didn't seem worried in the least. "Worth it."

Through the bickering and cursing, Sero got Bakugou on the gurney and started his way up with the tug of his tape before it started its slow ascent. Nagi stepped back and sat beside Yaoyorozu to watch Sero struggle with keeping Bakugou from moving too much.

"You seem to get along with Bakugou-san in quite a peculiar way."

Nagi chuckled at hearing Yaoyorozu's words. "It's fun to bother him."

Silence came over them then. One that felt rather thick to Nagi. Something Yaoyorozu proved true when she pursed her lips before raising her voice to ask, "Chitanko-san?"

"Mm?"

"Are you well?"

Turning to their vice president, Nagi took a moment to flash her a reassuring smile. "Course I am. What makes you ask?"

"It's just that, well… Ever since the earthquake this afternoon and you seemingly not being too well, I'm starting to suspect that perhaps what happened wasn't an earthquake at all."

"Doesn't that make the most sense though? For it to just be some random earthquake that came and went."

"It certainly would, but I think..."

When she drew out the word, Nagi practically heard the restraint in it. Mostly in the words she didn't want to say. She stared at her blue sneakers, tapping the sides against each other to keep from focusing too much. "I'm pretty sure we both know that you know, Yao-chan. Don't worry, you're not being nosy or anything. So whatever you're thinking, I'd rather you just say it."

"It was you, wasn't it?"

A wry smile came to her lips. Nagi buried her head into her knees, placing her arms over it to hide for a moment before lifting her head and facing her. "Sorry if I scared you."

"What happened?" Concern etched on her face, Yaoyorozu's brow furrowed ever slightly as she leaned forward.

"Just got distracted," Nagi said. "Nothing to worry about."

Yaoyorozu tilted her head, perplexed by her lack of reason. "Are you positive?"

Before Nagi could reassure her, the noise of Sero's climb down the mountainside took their attention. He reached them quick with practiced ease and once he was done securing Yaoyorozu to the gurney, he stepped back to face Nagi.

"Be back in a bit."

"Copy that." She gave a quick salute with her fingers and watched with a grin as they rose.

Once alone, Nagi let out a long sigh, her smile falling with it, and spun about to look at the rest of the chasm she stood in. Either end was a path of solid shadow where the light from above managed to keep lit. Just barely though. She could see one foot ahead of her somewhat clearly. The darkness and somber quiet sunk an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It was then that she realized how badly she wanted out of there. The faster, the better. The low rumble echoing from the nearby slide didn't make it any better either.

 _Fucking creepy._

Craning back her neck to let her voice ring out, she bellowed, "'Preciate some hustle, guys!" She frowned at the crack in her voice but dismissed it quickly enough by clearing her throat.

Not wanting to stand idle, she walked in circles to pass the time quicker. That didn't do much of anything. Eyes fleeting back and forth between her feet and the blackness that surrounded her, she kneaded at her abdomen and at the ball of nerves that started forming in her stomach in an attempt to undo it. The more her eyes accustomed to the dark though, the more it crawled closer. Encroaching her. Swallowing her whole.

Like drowning.

Her hands turned clammy at the reminder. Nagi's heart pumped harder to follow along with her hastening breath. No matter what she tried there wasn't any calming it down either. It sped quickly out of control at the vivid memory of her dream. Of what she felt, what she saw. Of _who_ she saw. An avalanche of thoughts suddenly spun in her head at that the idea of them.

 _Yori._

She fiddled with her phone, turning it over in her hand as it sat safely in her her costume's pocket . Despite having made up just the other day, she couldn't help the unease that crawled under her skin now more than ever. Yori was treading dangerous waters and risking his well being. Not just him, either. Everybody else was too. And here she was, playing pretend and playing nice. Gripping her phone tighter, the tepid embers lighted anew in the pit of her stomach and Nagi released the long breath of frustration that she held in.

 _Maybe I can help Yori with whatever they're doing during the night._ Sneaking around doing reconnaissance wasn't something foreign to her. It gave her something to do too. Another way to help. And Chiyoko's death urged her to do something—anything in her power to speed up the process.

Otherwise what was the point of being there?

"Chitanko?"

Her tension snapped at the sudden call. Instinctively, Nagi flung her arm back and her titanium bracelet flew. It wasn't until she heard Sero's cry and him thudding painfully to the ground from a considerable height that she pulled herself together.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!"

Sero groaned and rubbed the back of his head and frowned at her as she helped him to his feet "What was that for?"

"You...you kind of spooked me."

"Don't most girls just cry out or something?"

A nervous chuckle was all she could give him.

With Sero at the helm, it was easier than she thought to reach the top of the cliff afterwards. Everybody clamored around the two after they got to the top asking what had happened. Apparently the moment she cut his tape, Yohsei, Hagakure, and Aoyama, who'd been hauling him upward, sprung forth and hurt themselves too. Almost instantly at her stepping forward to claim the fault, Aizawa clipped the back of her head with the his casted arm, telling her to apologize.

For once, she listened.

"Sorry 'bout that."

It took Thirteen's quick intervention to dispel the situation and continue with the exercise at hand. Almost instantly, Nagi spaced out as the rest of her classmates switched between the injured and the rescuers, and didn't come to until the last round when Thirteen pointed at her and three others.

"Now for the last round, you four will be doing the rescuing."

Nagi followed Thirteen's pointing finger after they aimed it at her. Tsuyu, Mina, and Satou. _Not bad._ Two 'alright' picks and one 'good' one. Satou would be great for pulling and she was sure Tsuyu would be able to help with retrieving them too. Liking their prospects and of finishing the exercise early to get some much needed rest, Nagi huddled closer to her rescue team as they came together at Mina's enthusiastic behest.

"Alright, team, we've got this!"

"And the injured will be—" Thirteen's sudden stop mid sentence brought her attention back to them and she blanched at the sight of Aizawa interrupting Thirteen. "Senpai?"

"The injured will be Todoroki, Kouda, and Shouji."

A tick set off in her jaw at the obvious look he shot her. There was no mistaking the intent of it either. Plain as day, it said this was her punishment for not taking things seriously.

 _Whatever. Dish 'em out for all I care._

Even with her pride yelling at her to not let him have the last laugh—or frown, she supposed—Nagi felt too drained to give a damn about anything. Aizawa's bothersome tests least of all. But that didn't matter. What did was that the sooner she got this over with, the sooner she'd get to go home.

Thirteen and Aizawa gave them a few minutes to prepare while the faux injured were lowered. Mina took the time to prepare rather seriously, huddling them together like a bunch of football players and hauling Nagi by her arm when she lagged behind.

"Alright, team, here's the plan: Tsu-chan and I will go down while Nagi-chan and Satou stay and pull the injured back up."

"I don't think that's the best idea." Tsuyu peeked over her shoulder at the chasm behind them. "It' a rather long distance down. Won't Satou-chan get tired?"

The girls gave him a sidelong glance that got him thinking. "I could pull them up but it'd have to be fast."

"Fast won't do, Satou-chan. We don't want to risk the injured."

"Don't just shoot down every idea we come up with." Mina pouted, obviously peeved with how hard their exercise was turning out to be.

Tsuyu tilted her head towards Nagi as she pressed a finger to her cheek. "Maybe there's a better way to go about this."

Listening in, Nagi admitted that they all had good points in their back and forth. And she was sure they would figure it out. It was as they continued to bounce around ideas between each other that Nagi's eyes began to fleet aimlessly in search of a distraction. But the moment her eyes saw the pulley Yaoyorozu left behind, a lightbulb went on in her head. It was then, unable to keep to herself, that she chortled and everyone turned to her puzzled.

"I think I've got something."

Trotting over to the pulley on the ground, Nagi picked it up and turned it in her hands, taking in every minute detail that she could. Aizawa, realizing what she was doing, looked up.

"You can't use something from another team."

"I guessed as much." She nodded along, both to answer his reproach and ticking off the imaginary list she was making in her head. "But I'm not going to use it."

Holding the Yao-brand pulley in one hand, she turned the other with her palm up and started to gesture her fingers. The titanium on her costume answered her call and molded into liquid, crawling their way up into her open hand. With the meticulous movements of her fingers, she molded the liquid, solidifying it as she went along into a similar shape to what she had in her other hand.

Her team huddled around her as she made the finishing touches on the titanium pulley replica. Smug grin pulling at the corner of her lips, she showed it off to Aizawa, lifting it with one finger.

"This should be okay, though, right?"

Aizawa begrudgingly sighed and nodded in the end. Mina and Tsuyu clamored cheers around Nagi getting a genuine smirk out of her. _Guess spacing out paid off._ Thirteen took over, explaining to the group as Nagi, Tsuyu, and Mina went back to Satou to plan out their rescue properly.

"Ingenuity is your best ally in stressful situations. Especially when resources are scarce or when under time constraints. Always have a ready and open mind to be able to outwit whatever obstacle comes your way."

By the time they were done, her team was ready for the rescue and Thirteen gave them the greenlight to start.

Nagi went up first, nearing the edge of the cliff before undoing several pieces of titanium from her costume. She estimated the gurney's width with a glance before bunching up the liquid in the palms of her hands and sinking them straight down into the hard rock between her feet. With a firm thrust of her tensed arms outward, the titanium shot from the side of cliff straight to the other side, firmly affixing the pair of poles between the ravine. Satou and Mina readied the rope on the gurney while Tsuyu watched after Nagi as she walked off the cliff and onto the poles.

"Be careful, Nagi-chan."

She threw her a thumbs up, reassuring her as she trapiesed across to the center and right below the chasm. Lowering herself to a seat on one pole, she molded the ends of the pulley onto the poles before Satou helped her lower the gurney between the space she'd measured out. Nagi secured the pulley with one last tug and busied her hands with coating the rope in more of her titanium as the rest of her team prattled on.

"If we stick to the plan, we'll be golden!" Mina's enthusiasm brought a chuckle out of Nagi as she tapped the sides of the pole idly.

Mina and Satou bent down to snatch part of the rope, ready to pull with him behind for better support. "You guys bring them up safely."

Giving Satou a thumbs up, she made a rung out of the metal coating on the rope to step on and slid down to it. Hanging from the one rung, she motioned to the bottom at Tsuyu with a nod of her head. "See you below?"

Tsuyu let out a 'ribbit' along with a nod before climbing down the side of the cliff by safely clinging to it with her Quirk. Nagi signaled at Satou and Mina with a curt salute and both responded in kind by slowly lowering the gurney and her. Working together made the trip down easy. Or maybe it just seemed so when she wasn't doing much of the heavy lifting. That everything was either coated or made of titanium made it feel safer to boot. But it also brought on a palpable burden. If anything went wrong on the way up or down, she was the one safeguard. Definitely cranked up the anxiety factor a few pegs.

 _Nothing I can't handle._

Once below, she let Tsuyu assess the situation seeing as she was best at that sort of thing. Thirteen hadn't said which injured the three would be, but it wasn't too hard to figure out once they saw it. Kouda desperately waved his arms over his head, face scrunched up in worry. Whether fake or not, it was hard to tell for her. That Todoroki simply sat up without moving was a clear sign that he was the one with the broken leg. Which left Shouji as the unconscious one.

She turned to Tsuyu and chuckled. "Eraser really left us with all the heavy lifting, huh?"

"He must've been really upset with you, Nagi-chan."

She turned away, the comment poignant enough to shut her up instantly. Heaving a sigh, they focused back on the matter at hand. Though it made her nervous to bring such a hefty guy up the gurney, she that starting with the bigger guys first was the better option.

"We'll leave Todoroki-chan for last then," Tsuyu concluded.

"Call dibs on Kouda first." Kouda flustered at the mention of his name, waving his hands back and forth between himself and Shouji and Todoroki. Nagi, more or less understanding him, smiled reassuringly as her hands came to rest on her hips. "It'll be easier that way, so don't sweat it."

Bringing Kouda up turned out easier than she had first thought. Certainly gave her confidence when it came to Shouji's turn. And despite her anxiety peaking on the way up, it turned out to be just as painless. She gauged her control after delivering Shouji to Satou and Mina, wiping the beads of sweat from her brow as more crawled down her neck. A few jumps on the poles and a tug on the pulley ensured her of their sturdiness.

 _Good to go._ Once down in the chasm again, she thank god this was the last rescue and approached Todoroki with Tsuyu.

"You alright there?"

"Fine. Just make it quick."

"Nagi-chan, I wouldn't if I were you. Todoroki-chan's too serious to poke fun at."

Nagi shrugged her shoulders having grown a little more used to his apathetic demeanor. "Worth a try." Kneeling by his left side, she poke at the ice covering his leg. "We gotta splinter your leg, Mr. Injured."

"Do the other one."

"I want to do your left one though."

"The other one, Chitanko."

"But—"

"I'm not repeating myself."

Letting out a long sigh, she motioned her fingers so that the liquid metal formed the splint around his right leg. She blew him a raspberry all the while she and Tsuyu carried him to the gurney. Once secured, she tugged at the rope and the others started to pull it upward with her on the wrung. Bending her knee, Nagi leaned her head against the rope. So much routine inclined her to space out. At first she thought about nothing in particular—mostly of how much she wanted the exercise to be over—but as she let herself wonder, intrusive thoughts like before made their way through.

The petri. Bones breakings. Lungs filling to the brim with thick water. Chiyoko's haunting appearance. Her bloodied face. Her scarlet lips. Her hauntingly truthful accusation.

" _You did this."_

 _Crack._

The sound was tiny—almost indiscernible—but it wasn't the sound so much as the tension springing in her muscles so suddenly. Before she could even raise her head to look up, another _crack_ went off. This time she saw it, the way the pulley chipped at the mold just before it broke completely off from the titanium pole.

Turquoise eyes widened the split second it took for it to snap. The air in her lungs got punched got out of her the second gravity take over her and the gurney below. Acting on instinct, she pulled both arms in forcefully and felt the hearth in her gut alight. The titanium coating the rope and from the pole shot towards her at the gesture, converging with her arms. The instant she felt the coldness off the metal, Nagi clutched it, twisting the metal around her hands and grimacing at the sudden jerk threatening to pull her arms apart when the makeshift rope tensed up.

"Nagi-chan!"

"I'm alright!" Biting through the pain, Nagi gave Tsuyu a lousy excuse of a grin that even she knew did little to hide her pain. "Go up there and help them."

Tsuyu didn't appear convinced in the least but hurried in face of the situation, taking leaps to reach the cliff in no time. Nagi thanked her quick thinking and Tsuyu's self-controlled outlook under her breath, thinking she could surely hang in there while they pulled them the rest of the way up. But when pain struck her out of the blue, she bit her lip and scowled down at the gurney and more so at the person in it.

"Stop moving!"

"Your arms won't hold."

"I'll hold, damn it!"

This wasn't the time to panic. She needed to keep a leveled head. _Kinda hard with how much it fucking hurts._ Chastising herself for it, she tried thinking all the same. Through the pain, one thing did stick out. A bright and reassuring smile that calmed the hearts and minds of thousands around the world. Mimicking it with her own lopsided grin as best as she could, she turned down at Todoroki.

"N-No worries. I'm strong enough to hold out till they get us out of here. So just hang on tight and try to stay as still as possible, alright? We'll be out in a jiffy."

Mismatched eyes narrowed almost as if weighing the actual truth of her words but he had no time to protest by the time they began pulling them up. The incessant tugging of her arm shot pain straight through her that ran all the way to her spine with each pull. When they finally reached the top, Nagi groaned under her breath from the relief that coursed through her. Satou, grabbing her first by the scruff of her jacket, hauled her and the gurney upward onto solid ground. Once she was on the cliff, Todoroki didn't wait and simply made an ice pathway up with ease. Those eyes of his stared after her, his penetrating gaze hard to miss when it bore into the back of her head. Their eye contact was short lived though as Thirteen and Aizawa approached them.

"Are you alright?" Thirteen asked.

"For the most part." Her reply came between somewhat shaky breaths and the throbbing pain on her shoulders that was barely letting her think coherently.

Aizawa focused his sight on her, trying to find anything visible injuries. "Did your arms dislocate?"

Though taken aback by the question, she was quick to answer. "Not that I can tell. They're just aching." Thirteen and Aizawa shared one look before the former turned to ask her one more thing.

"Do you wish to continue?"

 _Why the hell not?_

Tired as she might be, quitting halfway wasn't going to cut it. So she didn't complain, rotating her shoulders instead as the whole class moved to the next area.

It reminded Nagi of the place they used for their first lesson with All Might. But instead of an exact replica of what would be a perfect suburban city, it looked like a tornado came through and ravaged the area. And it made sense after giving it some thought.

Search and rescue at the apex of a disaster zone.

Much like it did to Mina, it sounded like an elaborated hide-and-seek game to her. And indeed it was. Midoriya, Ochako, Mineta, and Bakugou would search while she and the rest hid. Some silent and others being allowed to speak. Aizawa took to explaining that to the bunch of them that would hide, gesturing with a nod to a few of them, including her. Nagi gave him a droll stare out of habit. Guess he was going with the more straightforward approach to get her to cooperate.

"All of you have two minutes to hide. And keep in mind that even with this being a simulation, the debris and buildings aren't unstable, so be careful."

"Yessir!"

She watched her classmates scatter like hens running from a hungry fox, some definitely more enthused than others. Nagi ambled with nowhere in mind to go, eyeing the area from where she stood all the while and weighing where the perfect spot to hide would be. With most buildings looking on the verge of crumbling down, it took a moment for her to find what she was looking for but once she did, Nagi hurried off in the general direction of one of the tallest edifices still standing. Even slanted as it was, it'd work fine.

 _It'll take some time for them to find me there._

And now more than ever she just wanted to be alone.

* * *

' **Hey, haven't heard from you for a few days. I know you said you'd contact me but I just want to make sure you're okay, y'know. Could you call me when you can? Also come back home soon. I sleep easier when I know you're alright—'**

Nagi groaned deep in her throat and pressed the backspace on her phone hard enough to almost crack the screen. The message completely erased, she smacked her forehead a couple of times with it before having it slide down her face to stare skyward.

The dome ceiling that surrounded USJ blocked the view of a clear blue sky outside. The light that passed through the panes of glass refracted, shining bright rays down into the simulation box. Their stay there now made it akin to a toybox in her mind. And if this was the toybox, there wasn't a doubt about who the toys were. Simply to have and to play with, to teach and then set free to do as they had been made to do. At times she thought such a cynic idea too dreadful to have.

But it also came from a dreadful place in her. A place she was all too familiar with to ignore. And it brought along too many nasty thoughts to silence.

 _Was Chiyoko like this too? Was she this cynical? Was that what drove her over the edge?_

Her fingers moved on their own, the thoughts urging them to as they pressed button after button on her phone. One final click brought up the sound that silenced everything around her instantly. Almost like a warm breeze brushing by and taking with it the things haunting her.

" _Nagi, be sure to take care on your way. Papa and I will be waiting for you, alright? And also, don't mind your father too much. He's just worried—"_

"Shit hiding place you picked."

Nagi scowled to herself, locking her phone the moment she heard Bakugou's irksome comment. The words didn't bother her as much as his interruption did. And here she thought she'd have time to brood without an audience.

 _Smile._

Nagi sat up and shoved her phone in her costume's pocket as she stood and dusted herself off. Plastering a grin from ear to ear, she skipped back with her hands behind her.

"Damn, what a bloodhound. Not even ten minutes."

Bakugou sneered and rested his gauntlet-clad on his hip. "You're the dumbass with their phone out."

"Eavesdropping?" She clicked her tongue and chidded him, "Uncool for a hero, dontcha think?"

Her relaxed expression and careless limbering up belied the the tension in her words. Or at least she thought they did. Those crimson eyes of his however narrowed on her. At noticing, Nagi gave him an innocent smile as acknowledgement to dissuade him.

"Like I fucking care what you're up to."

"Oh, be honest now." Nagi kicked at the ground where small pebbles laid about. "You like having me around."

"Check your damn head, Twinkle Toes. Fucking ego's getting to it."

A feral grin replaced the wistful one and taunted him as one of her eyebrows raised. "Sure you ain't talking about yourself there, kettle?"

Explosions set off in his palm as he threatened her with them, a tick going off on his jaw. "The hell did you say?"

"Ke~ttle—"

The sudden rumbling beneath their feet wiped the grin from her face. Far ahead, turquoise eyes spotted the dust rising closer from the center of town as it dissipated and the quaking stopped alongside it.

"What was that?"

Bakugou didn't bother answering. Curious why, Nagi turned in time to catch him rushing towards the edge of the roof. Panic swallowed her when he jumped and wrenched a hellish cry from her throat. Thankfully, he hadn't jumped for no reason. He set of his explosions without warning to propel himself in the direction where they saw the clouds rising. But as she watched his explosions go off and to where he was headed, her panic multiplied further.

It sent her heart pumping, her blood thrumming against her eardrums and muffling all outside noise. Frozen, Nagi focused on controlling her uneven breathing, but no matter how tightly she clutched at her chest, neither stopped. Her panic didn't dwindle and neither did the twisting in her gut lessen. Everything was moving too fast until it wasn't, stopping dead in its tracks when the earth shook once more. This time leveling a great portion of the city's center. The aftershock of such tremendous hit not only set off high speed winds but sent unstable buildings toppling down from the force, including the building she stood atop of.

The edifice beneath her feet as it fell tilting to one side. Nagi held her ground as the building stilled but couldn't help gawk in awe at the magnitude of damage the one hit caused. At the mere sight, something held her in a vice grip and stranded her in the middle of the roof.

 _Whatever's there, it's powerful._

It had to be if it managed to do so much damage in the blink of an eye. _What is it?_ A villain, another Nomu? Her blood ran cold at the thought. Yet surprisingly—without her even realizing it—she took a step forward. Her eyes dropped down to watch as she took another step closer to the edge.

Her heart felt ready to burst from the fear. Strangely though, it had nothing to do with the ghastly grip that tightened around her neck. Nor was it from the height of where she was or of who it reminded her of. It didn't even come from the thought of another Nomu attacking them. There wasn't a doubt in Nagi's mind that what froze her was fear. What moved her, though—what seemed so much stronger now than the fear that crawled under her skin—was the visceral need to go. To follow him. To be there for them.

" _Don't let go of what you cherish from now on. Hold onto it tight and protect it as you wish for it to be protected."_

Regaining control of herself, Nagi dissolved both her bracelets into liquid and rushed towards the far end of the rooftop. She played with the consistency for a second making sure they weren't too soft or too hard before looking straight ahead at the leveled area. Gripping the malleable titanium in hand easily dented the metal and gave her something to hang on to as she dashed ahead.

Warning bells blared in her head telling her that this wasn't safe. She might have pulled it off against Bakugou but not without consequence. Her bones still ached, her ankle had barely healed. None of it mattered because this had to work. She wouldn't reach them in time otherwise.

"C'mon. You can do this, Nagi," she muttered to herself, ragged breathes escaping her as she ran. On cue with her step, she flung the titanium as hard as she could muster from halfway across the roof. The lightweight liquid flew morphing into a spear and gaining speed as it cut through the air. Nagi didn't stop though. She kept running with her focus divided between building up speed and gauging the limits of her control.

With its speed, it'd be ten meters before the connection broke.

And counting.

 _C'mon, c'mon, c'mon._

She rushed towards the edge urging her legs forward and ignoring the burning of her muscles.

Four meters.

 _Further. Faster._

The instant her foot stepped on the edge she pushed herself off and leaped. It happened suddenly and with little notice—but for a split second she sensed it. A hair's breadth of her Quirk still attached to the metal in midair tensing to its limit. Taut and ready to snap.

She didn't let it.

 _Converge!_

Every bone in her body quaked as it lost consistency. Liquid as she could get it, it pulled her by core, stopping her from falling and shooting her across the air towards the metal still traveling in midair. Still in her control.

"...it worked…"

Converging metal was never hard. It was just pesky to do, not to mention painful. It was a perk of her Quirk, that like two drops of water touching together, let her amalgamate however much titanium was in her control to mold into whatever she wanted, no matter how big. A seamless integration of metal for her to control and shape so long as it was titanium. And it would all congregate towards whatever core she chose. Whether it be her...or a piece that she so coincidentally hurled across the air. And with the speed she built adding to its own kinetic energy it truly felt like she was flying.

When she noticed herself too close to a rooftop, Nagi reversed the convergence and instantly fell, tumbling across the roof to a stop as the titanium spear pierced not far ahead from her. Explosions so near she could practically smell the smoke invading her nostrils, she rushed to the edge swiping up her spear in hand. Heavy drawn out breathes wrenched at her lungs and made her sides burn from the exertion but she didn't let it stop her. Hurling the spear, Nagi jumped off and converged down with it as it pierced the leveled ground, stopping the hulking villain in his tracks when he tried rushing at Bakugou.

She skidded to a stop not far from Bakugou and Iida, molding her bones back into shape as the latter called out to her concerned. Nagi paid no heed to his words at first, more caught off guard by the familiar bicolored head she spotted swaying by the villain's grasp.

 _Todoroki?_

"Forget about that," Bakugou sneered. Not once taking his eyes off the villain before them, he sneered over his shoulder at Iida. "Make those weaklings run away!"

Iida frowned, obviously upset with Bakugou's monikers. "Why do you have to insult others?"

"We can scold his potty mouth later." Steel blue turned to Nagi as she looked over her shoulder at him and, unlike Bakugou, smiled thinly. "What matters now is getting Todoroki back and getting the others out. Take care of that, pres. Firecracker and I'll get him back."

"Oi, oi, Bakugou. What do you mean by 'weaklings'?" Turning to look overheard, she blinked bemused at how the rest of her classmates emerged from out between the rubble. The sight of them safe swelled her chest, her heart warming alongside it, and a smile spread across her face as Yaoyorozu stepped up to stand beside Kirishima.

"We are the twenty-two students of class A. We would be remiss if we allowed you both to do such a dangerous thing on your own, Chitanko-san."

The tumultuousness she felt coursing through her calmed at their words. Her mind began clearing a little then, the stark whiteness clouding it flashing briefly with bright colors. Curling her own fists, Nagi spun with a feral, lopsided grin spread across her face as she unfurled her fingers to call forth all the titanium on her. Stainless titanium blades formed and hovered over either of her shoulders, four for each finger that seamlessly moved in tandem.

The titanium pieces set off the instant the villain swung his arm to punch them. The force sent flying pieces of rubble which her blades slashed as they came their way. Nagi laid low striking at any boulder that came and waited for the right moment to strike. She found that opening when the villain swung again and pushed most of them back—and she wasn't the only one that did. Not far away she saw another loudmouth do the same, staying low and out of sight behind the colossal villain. _Good thinking._ Stumbling with her footing and rushing to regain it, she swept in, blades in tow, charging headfirst at the villain.

His orange tinted goggles found her after avoiding a set of explosions, his focus solely on her now. With a swipe of her arm, her blades answered in kind and the villain stepped back preemptively to avoid their slashing. The grin on her face widened as the smoke behind him broke and Bakugou leapt through, hand outstretched and ready with another explosion. But her smugness vanished when the villain tilted his head to the side and avoided it entirely. _You're not getting off that easy!_ Following Bakugou's lead, she stormed in at every turn she could. Every time Bakugou's attack got dodged, she stepped in, blades razoring through the smokescreen the explosions casted and always barely grazing the villain. And every time, her hands extended outward trying to nab Todoroki and just shy of making it every time.

The burning of her muscles and the hearth in her stomach starting to lose heat set of warning bells in her head. _Shit._ One hesitant step cost her her footing. The villain swung out nicking her side, but it was more than enough to send her flying and crashing into Bakugou. The force of it and her poor footing twisted her ankle and Nagi yelped at the pain that shot up her leg as the two stumbled to get up.

"Seems you're tired out." His deep voice thrummed through her, knotting her gut and sinking it to the pit in her stomach. "Time to end this."

"Like hell—" A pang struck Nagi's whole body when she put the slightest weight on her ankle. She hissed, falling to her side to keep from putting pressure on it. _Shit, did I hurt it again?_

"Don't make me laugh!" Her head snapped back to watch Bakugou stand without a problem in spite of his breathlessness. "I'm barely getting started!"

He charged forward and the moment he did, not far away, a mossy mess of hair caught her eye as it too ran ahead towards the villain. Running figures not far behind him got the gears in her head turning. Each so particularly set in a certain direction, almost like chess pieces on a board. Turquoise eyes fixed on Midoriya again and her heart leapt when he sprung with Tsuyu's and Ochako's help to snatch Todoroki out of the villain's grasp. Her elation lasted seconds before confusion took over at his lifted his finger. _Where's he aiming_ —her eyes widened an instant before narrowing on the man standing in their way, a feral smirk spreading wide across her face.

The tensed titanium around her quivered eagerly.

Giving it no thought whatsoever and following her gut instead, Nagi kicked off sprinting towards the villain and not slowing down for a second. His hands aloft to fend off Midoriya's blow blocked her from view but didn't stop him from prepping another blow.

"No, you won't!"

Swiping her arms ahead of her, she let it add to her speed before punching out and striking the cluster of titanium she controlled his way. The villain opened his closed fist to catch the misshapen ball of metal, but when it touched his hands, Nagi spread hers open. The metal melted to scatter to either side of the hulking man in the blink of an eye. It spread quickly with each gesture of her fingers and once she felt it connect behind him, she clenched her fists tightly closed. Reacting, the metal hardened into thick beams that restrained his arms at his sides.

 _Yes!_

Her celebration got cut short when, from close behind her, the crackling and hiss of explosions erupted. Unable to stop, she did the first thing that popped to her head. Bakugou kicked off behind her as she slid underneath the villain and through their legs, calling what titanium she still had to shield herself from the roarous explosion.

The impact pushed her against the ground but neither that nor the sudden foot that kicked off forcefully against the shield distracted her from the intense hit that shot above her. The crackling lasted a heartbeat, quickly taken over by cheers that rung out. Nagi sprung to a seat expectantly, her shield breaking into smaller pieces as she fixated straight ahead.

There, stuck in a piece of debris littered with Mineta's purple spheres, was the villain. Nagi gawked after Bakugou as he made his way towards the villain, hands lit and ready, when his mask tore off, revealing All Might's nervous albeit smiling expression.

Chuckling at the absurd scene before her, Nagi leaned back on her hands to watch them beat the living hell out of All Might for the jest he'd played. Unlike them though, she didn't have the energy to do that. No matter how much she felt like beating him for the heart attack too.

"Todoroki-kun?"

Her head turned as back as it could from Midoriya's confounded tone. Todoroki stood nonchalantly as ever not far from them, not at all bothered by his part in the poor-taste joke. The hint of a grin upturned the edges of her mouth unevenly.

"You were in on this too?"

Todoroki went characteristically somber.

"Sorry."

Nagi scoffed and fell backwards kicking up dust wringing a worried cry from Midoriya. "C-Chitanko-kun?"

"I-I'm fine!" Cackling broke through her apology as it erupted in full from her. She lifted her arm from her side and folded it over her face, covering her eyes from the bright light spilling through glass from the outside. "It's just—such a rotten sense of humor! It's so bad that it's just—"

She tried and failed to stifle a laugh that bubbled right out of her belly and undid the knot of entrails that her gut had become. The shuffling of footsteps caught her ear and she rolled over on her belly to watch Todoroki's receding back, ice chipping away from his shoulder and leaving a trace to fall in his wake. The sight of his back struck her but she couldn't quite comprehend why. Before she could think anymore of it, she felt someone touch her back before a weightlessness wrought a panicked scream out of her.

"C-Calm down, Nagi-chan, it's me!" Nagi pouted at Ochako who held onto her wrist to keep her from floating off.

"Warn me first."

"Sorry," she said. "But I don't think you can walk. Your ankle is all swollen again."

A quick glance verified as much. The same ankle she'd broken when the villains attacked swelled an angry red just where her pants ended. Funny that she didn't feel any pain. Nonetheless, Nagi groaned. _So much for no more visits to Recovery._ The sudden flip of her stomach robbed her attention from everything else when she couldn't quite get a hang of Ochako's Zero Gravity on her body. Before long, her face began turning green and Ochako made haste to take her and Midoriya to Recovery Girl before Nagi could throw up her lunch.

 _Oh no._

This time, it didn't stay in her mouth.

* * *

"I had hoped that when you promised Suzume not to be as reckless that you would keep to your word."

Recovery Girl huffed incredulously and frowned at the freshly healed Nagi whose gaze skewed away to anything that wasn't the tiny fuming nurse ambling around. Nagi let out a dry laugh wanting to disperse the chiding. It did close to nothing with how irritated Recovery Girl appeared.

"Old habits are hard to break."

"Don't give me that speil, young lady," she retorted, swinging her cane precariously. "You're not fooling anyone, least of all me."

Nagi pouted. "This time it wasn't even my fault though. It was All Might's and his idea of a joke." Brushing off the scolding, she snickered at the reminder, her healed and fully functioning ankles twisting idly. "What a bad joke it was too."

"Oh, he will be having an earful about this. Have no doubt about that. It's certainly no excuse either way." Another huff. This time, Recovery Girl tapped her cane against the floor, making Nagi flinch at the sharp sound and her back stiffen to attention. With a sigh from the old lady, it slackened and she let a quiet sigh rush through her nose when she could. "But what's done is done, I suppose. Just don't go making this a habit, you hear me?"

Nagi couldn't lie to the face of the old nurse imbued with such gall and exuding it the same with every word she spoke.

"I do but I can't promise much."

She huffed again, her brow knitting together.

"Honestly, it's like you and that Midoriya boy are contending to see who breaks the most bones."

"Pretty sure he'd beat me. Not that I wouldn't give him a run for his money— **OW!** " Nagi yelped, rubbing the crown of her head where Recovery smacked her with her cane.

"Crack another joke and I'll crack that thick head of yours." She swung it haphazardly for good measure before slamming it against the tiled floor again. This time it wasn't that which caught her ear but the low tone of her voice that accompanied her words. "Maybe that way you'll understand that this is a serious issue. You may be made of something sturdier than the rest but you're not invulnerable."

"But you said it yourself. I _am_ sturdier. That means I can handle more."

"You're a child just like the rest regardless." She raised her cane once more and Nagi covered the top of her head instinctively. Her eyes shut tightly, she waited for the blow—but it didn't come to her head. Instead, the syringe tapped her knee gently—almost careful as if she didn't want for her to break. "God forbid but that mentality will cost you more than just a broken ankle next time if you go on like this."

She didn't want to retort. But when they treated her like this it was hard not to.

"You guy exaggerate too much. A broken bone here and there aren't that big of a deal for me."

"Evidently." Recovery shook her head solemnly. Defeated. Saddened. It struck a chord in Nagi that she didn't want to admit. "You're all good to go, child." Nagi mumbled a quiet 'thanks' as reply to the sudden dismissal and jumped off the bed, putting her shoes back on as she did. "Just be sure to keep your word in mind. It may not disturb you, all this harm you sustain, but it certainly does us and it pains us all the same."

Turquoise eye gazed up from beneath her lashes, a frown coming onto her face that she hid the best she could with a smile. A smile that was way too feigned.

"I'll try my best."

Recovery Girl nodded but her saddened expression remained.

* * *

Crude drawings were sprawled across the wet sand that quickly disappeared as the waves crashed onto the beach and washed them away. Nagi didn't mind, she simply started the drawing over tracing what little was left with the stick in her hand.

Dusk started to fall not long after she got out of the train, turning the sky a deep orange and veiling the ocean in that same amber color. Despite the night's sure arrival, she wasn't in any mood to head home. Not with the whole of that day still spinning in her head, reminding her of every little thing that transpired. Most of all, Chiyoko.

A part of her couldn't understand why she cared so much. She'd been the one who cut contact with her and everybody else after all. And even before that, the times they interacted had been far and few in between. Grandfather made sure of that. She had never known Chiyoko more than she did a stranger passing in the street.

Yet it hurt. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

" _I know it won't be simple but if there's something I can do to help them, then I want to do it."_

She recalled still, not long after reuniting with Yori, what she had wanted more than anything. The sentiment never vanished. It solidified over the years instead, making its home in her heart and mind, determined to stay.

"Would closure have mattered to you?" she asked the rough drawing of the little girl she'd seen that afternoon. There wasn't any sign of blood anywhere and instead of a blank stare, Nagi drew a pleasant smile. Something she never got to see from many of them.

Before long, the waves came and washed away Chiyoko's portrait, bringing with it an ache to her chest that pained her sharply.

 _It might've. And if I would have stopped goofing around and hurried, I could've given that to you._

Clicking her tongue, Nagi shot up and slashed at the wet sand. When that wasn't enough, she reeled back her leg and kicked at the dirt with more force for good measure, but that didn't do much of anything either. None of it did. She let out an exasperated groan as she pulled at a fistful of her hair.

It irked her how, despite knowing how invaluable time was for Yori, that she never before considered the others after leaving them behind. It frustrated her how she only realized how important it was for them too _after_ Chiyoko was gone. And beyond everything, she couldn't help but resent herself for not working faster to do what they set off to from the start.

Becoming a hero was a good plan. It would let her do so much more than what scurrying through alleys and hiding behind computer screens ever would. But it required time and so much more attention that she imagined. It was a good plan but a slow one, nonetheless.

It couldn't be the only thing she could do.

 _There's gotta be something else. There has to be._

Enraged, she pivoted and hurled the stick with reckless abandon across the beach. It wasn't until she heard the cat's panicked growl that she looked up to watch it jump out of the stick's course. Nagi stared dumbfounded after the hissing feline as it made it's way away from her and the beach, its back arched all the way it took to cross by her. Her brow furrowed, an odd sensation striking her head at the sight of it. It was one she often got when something she'd forgotten wanted to bubble to the surface.

This one didn't take long to pop out.

 _There is._

How could she forget about it?! Nagi sprinted out of the beach frantically rifling through her pocket for her phone as she rushed home.

 _I can do it. I can do more. I can do_ _ **both.**_

Nobody else was going to die because of her incompetence.

* * *

An expanse of spider lilies pale as the moon spread all around Yori, the light veil of water they grew on wetting his bare feet where he stood. The sky, instead of blue, reflected the field of blooming flowers as they swayed in a gentle breeze. Amidst the field there stood a grand oak tree, its bark beaten by the wind that never stopped blowing and roots withering from overgrown weeds that wouldn't die.

Yet there it stood. Still alive.

Yori made his way to it and placed one hand on the bleak trunk to feel the faint beating that came from it. At its base where a patch of ground leveled off, it reflected nothing but the sickly sight of the bare oak branches above. Surrounding him and the tree where those same blooms. A blithe and beautiful contrast against the woeful tree.

Yori never understood two things about his Quirk. One of them was why spider lilies bloomed there. Why every time he closed his eyes to find the scattered connections his Quirk created he saw spider lilies growing from the thin layer of water that spread as far as his eyes could see in this small part of his consciousness. He watched them sway, their white color burning into his eyes until he found one that gave him respite from the forlorn scene.

Inches away, a bloom stilled against the breeze that blew, its color shining clear as could be. Standing and taking the few steps to it, he bend down to inspect it. Instead of white, the spider lily was the color of molten gold—the color of his eyes.

 _Inryoku's._

He didn't need to touch it to know. Where seedlings were left in his hosts' conscious for him to usurp, flowers grew in his. And anytime he took control of someone and touched the white petals of their flower, they would tinge the color of his eyes. From there, using his expanse of flowers as intermediaries, it was easy to hop from one conscious to another while leaving no trace of himself behind. Having enough to fill this field was proof enough of just how many times he had fractured himself already. Enough times to die a hundred times over and still return intact.

 _Mostly, anway._

It was as much his blessing as it was his curse.

When the breeze blew this time he felt it brush against his face, warm and gentle. Or at least thought he had. It was hard to remember what a breeze felt like on his actual face. With this one, though, came more than just wind. Soft giggling hovered in the air, children's laughter. They called his name and beckoned for him to play, calling for him to stay with them.

 _We're lonely,_ they said. _Why can't you stay with us?_

"Because you aren't real."

" _Don't be mean to them, Yori."_

Nagi's soft voice floated through the air and into his ears easily. Turning about, he found the one lone spider lily that grew atop a mound of water effortlessly. The small moat surrounding it separated it from the rest, only a handful others encircling it in an attempt to join it in its pedestal.

It wasn't easy to separate consciousnesses, especially not with how intertwined they tended to get once connected to him, but when he realized who that one in particular belonged to, he did his damnedest to do so. He didn't want any of the others to touch her.

Making his way to it, he crouched down to its level and caressed its petals softly with the back of his fingers. Veins of gold gorgeously mingled with the white. Never fully taking over it but never leaving it alone either. With a mere touch he could sense the turmoil that wracked her, emotions that were there since the rescue and that hadn't fully vanished after it. To that day, they still tore at her, a few petals dangling limply while others withered a blatant show of that. It grew regardless of those flaws though. Just like the dying oak tree of his.

The breeze blew again and brought with it the voice of the little part of her he had.

" _We could run away, Yori. Run away somewhere no one will find us and where no one will ever hurt us again. We won't need nothing and no one else. Just us."_

 _Haven't heard that one in a long time._

They had been words that promised heaven and earth to a boy who knew nothing outside of alabaster halls, operating rooms, and fighting arenas. One he held to heart during inconsolable times.

It gave him hope that there would be a tomorrow. And that it would always come with her by his side.

The breeze blew once more and amongst the laughter, Yori heard audible cries. Nagi's flower bent to one side, some of its green leaves starting to wilt at the sound of sobs. Following its gesture, Yori eyed the wilted spider lily lying just outside the moat surrounding her.

 _Chiyoko._

Yori never understood two things about his Quirk. One of them was why spider lilies bloomed there. The other why wilted flowers remained in his subconscious even after the ties uniting them severed. He hadn't minded it at first. It was like a memento that he could keep for himself. No matter how many died and who forgot them, he never would.

But like this—Chiyoko was starting to harm her.

He dug his fingers into the water underneath the wilted flower. What felt like wet dirt stuck underneath his fingernails but Yori didn't stop until he had the roots of the wilt in the palm of his hand. The breeze came more fiercely and more sharp words sprung in the air.

 _So cruel._

 _It's all we have left of her!_

 _Don't kill her twice._

 _Meanie!_

" _Weeds infect a garden, my boy. And if you don't rid yourself of them, it will eradicate every other blossom there is until there is nothing left but barren land."_

" _Yori."_ He recoiled at her soft voice so close. So gentle and kind. _"Don't do it."_

He hesitated for a moment, his eyes fixated on the white and gold spider lily that struggled to sway in the wind. Slowly, he began to release the wilted flower but when another green leaf of hers shriveled up without warning his eyes steeled, determined.

"I'm doing this for your own good," he whispered.

Mercilessly, he yanked the wilted flower from the ground splashing water everywhere. With a dying shriek, the wilt vanished into dust that fell through his fingers, leaving nothing behind. The spot it had taken leveled over on its own and the water settled after a brief moment as it nothing had happened.

It took seconds of it vanishing before no trace of it was left. Almost as if she had never existed.

The wind died then and with it the chiding words and cries for mercy. He cared for none of them. Instead he turned to the lone flower on the mound and sighed in relief when some color began to return to its shriveling leaves.

 _Grandfather was right. Weeds destroy my garden._

"..o.."

 _They will kill my flower if I give them the chance._

"...oy…"

 _And I'll kill them all before they ever lay a finger on her._

"Wake up, boy."

Golden eyes fluttered open and brought the decrepit bar into view as he lifted his head from where it laid on the bar top. _I dozed off?_ He searched about to ground himself more and noted Giran a seat away from him, swirling what looked to be a glass of dark caramel colored whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Brushing a hand through his hair, Yori groaned into his hands, wanting to dispel the dizziness he woke up with.

A glass _clanked_ onto the slab in front of him. He eyed the water briefly, glancing up at Kurogiri as he retracted his hand from the countertop before eyeing his phone that sat next to it now. A small light blinked back at him and he groaned again. Picking it up and seeing who it was, though, changed his mood entirely. Moreso, because of the text he had received.

" **I'm breaking the cat through the damn firewall by week's end."**

Nagi's program—he'd forgotten about it. Yori almost thought it lost. It certainly sounded like it after the tantrum she threw after Shigaraki's attack. Yuuei had rebooted their system, to her chagrin, and there was a very high likelihood that her Cat had been erased along with it. Now, she sounded too sure of what she thought could be done. _Knowing her..._

A devilish smile spread across his face at the mere thought of how her face must look like at that very moment.

"Oh, looks like good news," Giran jested, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"For me, yes," Yori said. "And perhaps for you, too."

"Is it now."

"Say," he began, "how much are you willing to pay for information on Yuuei?"

A crooked smile plastered on Giran's face, the gap in his teeth blatantly on display. "Depends on the goods, boy. But if it's Yuuei, I'm sure Shigaraki won't mind the price." He turned to Kurogiri, raising his glass at the bartender. "Ain't that right?"

Kurogiri nodded in response. "Certainly."

 _Splendid._

"That being said," he interrupted. "We won't be movilizing until after Shigaraki Tomura's wounds have healed. Besides, Yuuei won't be an easy target anytime soon."

Yori's brow furrowed. "How come?"

"Don't you know, boy?" Giran bit down on his cigarette and flashed him another grin. "Their Sports Festival is in a couple weeks. And from what I've gathered, they have plenty of added security after Shigaraki's little attempt. No use going when it'll be swarming with all kinds of pros."

He had a point. More than anything though, what he started with caught Yori's attention. Picking his phone, he texted back one single question.

" **Are you participating in Yuuei's sports festival too?"**

Nagi didn't reply.

* * *

 **And so the day of the Sports Festival arrived.**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ***COLLAPSES ON FLOOR WHEEZING***

 **FINALLY FREAKING DONE!**

 **I can't believe this took two weeks LONGER than I originally thought it would. Back when I posted the last chapter, I thought I had about 3/4s of this one done. Turns out that I had 3/5s!** _ **3/5!**_ **And that's just because I kept not liking how it ended. Then when I did find a good place to end it, I'm like 'how the heck do I get from this to that?!' and so began the damn struggle to close the gap. So sorry if this is a tad bit long. Gotta say, I'm pretty happy with this one aside from the trouble. Not only does it start getting deeper in Nagi's bkg but also Yori's. Speaking of that little devil, I was a little iffy about putting the last part into the chapter. When I got to editing it, it sounded a little to fantasy-like for BnHA. Then I thought wth, it's not like them having crazy ass powers isn't fantasy-like enough, so I kept it. Just think of it as going into his mind for once. Like REALLY in there (w)**

 **This chapter was my favorite to write so far but also the hardest. Usually it's fun to explore the psychology of a character and comes easy with my OCs, but Nagi is struggling against me so hard. She's a tough nut to crack that one. But I'm getting through her. Painfully slow. I'll end my rambling there :)**

 **And now, I wanna give so many hugs and thank yous to tons of amazing people! First thank you to** _stealthgeneral, abbydobbie, Saraquiel, DKMaria, Firegirl4343, ItaSasuHinaNaru, ARavensShadow, Xerenade, KyubiMaster9, Kaiko Pyon, Nathan941, 0Generations, kghart, and bai2468!_ **So thankful that so many of you have favorited and followed this story, joining others in this story and myself as well! And also a million thank yous to** _Aviantei_ **and** _SoratheknowledgeDevourer23_ **for their comments on the last chapter! I'll be real with ya'll, I was in a little creative slump while writing this chapter. It got harder and harder to come back to it and get myself into a writing groove. Just a couple of days ago, I went back to reread the lovely comments everyone has left so far in this story and you have no idea how much that just boosted my spirit! It's always lovely to hear that someone's enjoying what I find joy in doing and just makes me want to write even more. Y'know what they say, give a fanfic writer reviews and they'll churn out chapters.**

 **But really, I'd like to thank each and everyone one of you because of your love and support for what I do, because I frankly do it with all of you in mind 3**

 **So before I get too sappy, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next where we're finally, FINALLY getting into the SPORTS FESTIVAL ARC!**

 **Lots of hugs and love to you all,**

 **\- Evie**


	10. Tungsten

**x.| Tungsten**

— _In its raw form, it is a hard steel-gray metal that is often brittle and hard to work. If made pure, it can retain its hardness, which exceeds that of many steels, and becomes malleable enough to be worked easily. Derived from the Swedish words 'tung sten' meaning 'heavy stone'._

* * *

The smooth sound of faint jazz music thrummed through the darkly lit club. Its bass lightly shook the lights overhead, like the soft tapping of a finger against still water, and cast strange shadows against the faces of its customers. Thick gray clouds of smoke lingered from the countless tiny lit cigars scattered in the room. Anybody could taste it heavy on their tongue anytime they opened their mouth to speak. Amazing how none of their patrons complained. Then again, they seemed too busy drinking their night away to care, the clinking of glasses somehow louder than the live band playing just on the other end of the club.

Kaya scrutinized them from her place behind the bar. Taking in every faint word and gesture that took place on the other side, she stood attentive. Her keen eye watchful of her surroundings regardless of the countless drinks she poured for just as many customers, denizens or otherwise.

A hostess needed to practice caution irregardless of her place. Kaya learned that lesson from all the horror stories told by her coworkers, and it certainly stuck. These people tended to treat someone differently when they found out they weren't affluent or of high-end status—one bred from early generations of arranged marriages, or what they now referred to as Quirk marriages. Due to the high demand of places where these would-be couples could convene outside of the public eye, this private club, among others, had been established in response. Here, the children of those generations could socialize during their arranged meetings much more liberary than they could before their families.

Places like this club where a locus of shameless debauchery behind thick curtains for the mighty and opulent.

Kaya hated the atmosphere because of this. As just a worker with not that much of an impressive Quirk in hand, she, along with the rest of her coworkers, were given a strict set of rules. Considered nothing more than decorations, they were expected and paid to act as such. And though she despised such degradation, she couldn't complain with such undeniably high salary. A destitute family such as hers wouldn't sustain itself, after all. No matter how much she argued otherwise. So as the oldest of eight and with habitually absent parents, Kaya had to ever creative ways to make ends meet regardless of what her job entailed. Of course being treated as lower than dirt notwithstanding.

In this line of work, it paid to be cautious of what one did—

" _You look like you need a drink, Kaya-san."_

And what one said.

Not the least bit in the mood to play his games that night, her instinctual ward manifested as a sharp and curt reply.

" _I'm working, Hiroyuki-kun."_

" _So am I."_ He took a long swip of his short glass of rum. The glass _thudded_ against the mahogany countertop when he placed it down and the faint vibration traveled to the tips of her fingers where they laid.

" _You call a date work?"_ Her tone remained skeptical as she raised an eyebrow for good measure.

" _Someone orders you expecting you to drop whatever you have in mind without giving you a choice in the matter? Sounds like work to me."_

Her eyes skimmed past him to where a gorgeous blonde in an exquisite, sequin cocktail dress chatted with a plethora of men. Quite animatedly, she might add. The woman didn't seem the least preoccupied with the fact that she came in with the very man Kaya now found herself entertaining. Then again, neither did he. Dark caramel eyes spared a glance over his shoulder and he chuckled. He rose his glass in a mocking toast.

" _Good riddance."_

" _She's quite beautiful,"_ Kaya added.

" _Outside, maybe. Inside,"_ his nose scrunched as he tilted his glass back and forth to watch the liquid sway, " _Not so much."_

 _Twelfth one in six months,_ she thought. It was always the same couple days out of the month. Like clockwork he meandered in charming the women he came with off their feet at first. Then, before long, spent his hours drinking the night away at her side of the bar before leaving—always alone. His back strangely lax for someone who tended to lose his date ten minutes after walking in.

Kaya wasn't complaining though. He certainly made a night worthwhile with his chats and horrid jokes. It just had her wondering just what exactly kept him coming back when all that he did was get dumped every time.

" _Maybe she doesn't like your hair."_

The man gawked back, caramel eyes wide in disbelief. Kaya didn't bother rectifying her statement. She seldom did, though she thanked the dark lighting hid her blanching features well. Her unfiltered mouth was a habit that got her fired from many a job before, or at least chewed out by management. Just when she thought this would be another one of those times, he burst out laughing and utterly startled her. Her hands shook briefly just as she was about to pour him another drink, but the bubbly sound that replaced it did something worse.

The lovely sound got her heart racing nothing did. Kaya wasn't sure of whether or not to hate herself for that.

" _You might be onto something."_ He picked up a stray lock of bright pink hair and eyed it from the corner of his eye. _"Quite an unflattering color, I would say."_

" _Maybe unflattering isn't quite it. I'd say it's rather,"_ Kaya spared a glance at him to lock her gaze with his and his dark caramel eyes fixated on her rather patiently, " _fitting."_

A low hum came from him in agreement. He rested his chin on his hand to lean on the countertop and closer to her. _"Is that a compliment I just heard?"_ Wanting to wipe that smug, half-smirk off his face, she returned to her usual stoicism and quickly dismissed him.

" _Don't get use to it."_

" _What if I gave you some too? Would you say more? Nevermind—I don't really care about compliments. It'd make my day to just shower you with them, that's for sure."_

" _Please don't."_

" _You have beautiful eyes."_

Kaya choked on her own saliva. Clearing her throat, she covered her mouth with her clenched fist in the hopes of hiding the surge of color that rushed to her cheeks. _Don't get carried away._ She might have talked plenty with him and think him charming herself but that wasn't reason enough to let her guard down. Her heart ached a little just the same.

" _Something you say to every woman you meet?"_

" _It's something I've been hoping to say to you since the first time I met you."_ His lips upturned when he said this, a boyish smile spreading on his features that brightened the dimly lit club. Carefully, he traced the rim of his full glass with his finger. _"There's actually something else I've been wanting to ask you as well."_

All prior guard forgotten, Kaya waited with bated breath, her hands tight around to the bottle of rum she had been serving.

" _Would you like to go out with me sometime?"_

" _To an event? As a hostess?"_

He shook his head, his smile widening more.

" _On a date. As yourself, Kaya-san."_

It'd be bad. She just knew it. Nothing more than a fling born from his boredom. No doubt it would pain her, too. But her fluttering heart begged her to throw away her bias and reconsider. _Try,_ it pleaded. _Give it a chance._ More like a gamble. They were from different sides of the tracks. Surely, even if she agreed, it'd be a one time thing. Surely, she would spot him the night after with another woman.

But then again, that was a hundred times more appealing than returning home. The prospect of watching her hard-earned money snatched out of her hands the moment she crossed her door wasn't something she looked forward to.

Considering it all, a simple coin toss on this wouldn't be a waste. Letting go of the bad and thinking of only the good wasn't a waste. So for once, as her slender fingers fiddled with a small coin in her blazer's pocket and she pictured the coin in her mind, she let herself hope.

 _I'll have a good time._

And tossed.

 _Surely._

Heads.

" _I'm off at nine."_

* * *

Yuuei's usually tranquil campus became a bustling funfair almost overnight. Stalls lined every free space possible, vendors shouting at the top of their lungs to get the attention of prospective customers. The scent of delicious cuisine filled the air outside the stadium. It wafted in the air and permeated it, the soft breeze that blew taking it off to attract people with a promise of succulent treats and foods. Chatter blew up on every corner and easily drowned out the racket of fireworks blowing overhead. Not one person could keep to themselves of just how spectacular the year's sports festival would be.

"With the passion of their last chance and the tactics from their experience, the third years have always been the main event in past years."

"But this year, the first-year stage is the one to watch!"

 _No pressure whatso-fucking-ever!_

Nagi let out a nervous squeal as she rushed past the enthused crowd. She dodged them, ducking and skirting past in attempts to reach the prep room faster. All the while, a duffle bag kicked at her backside as she struggled to put on her gym jacket over her black spaghetti strap top.

Five! How in hell's name did she sleep through five separate alarms!?

Low curses slipped out at herself as she bolted through, careful not to trip on her blue, untied shoes. Skidding another corner, her stomach grumbled at the rich smell that slapped her in the face. Takoyaki and yakisoba stands, among many others, flew by her and each time she breathed her stomach grumbled in protest.

"Shut up!" she cried in a sing-song tone, annoyed at her own cravings.

One jump over a lost souvenir left in her way broke her pace abruptly. Nagi barely touched the ground and took a step when her foot jerked as the other stepped on her shoelace.

 _Fuck—!_

"Ack!"

Nagi tumbled back at the sudden collision and heard another cry out as they too fell backward. The sweet smell of takoyaki caught her off guard as the lady's voice cried out for her food. Eyes snapping upward, Nagi brandished out her arm and sent one bracelet after the falling box of takoyaki. As they fell, they began falling from the box but a quick skewer with a thin piece of titanium brought them all together before dropping the box in her hands.

"Real sorry 'bout that!" Nagi sprung to her feet as the hero, Mt. Lady, stood with the help of Kamui Woods.

The giant hero fumed from her head and stomped her foot angrily at her. "Watch where you're going!"

"My bad," she hurriedly apologize over again. Once done, Nagi pushed the box into Mt. Lady's arms and sprinting off again without wasting a breath.

"A first-year?" Death Arms mumbled, lifting his headband to more easily watch her go.

"I suppose so. It would certainly explain why she's in a hurry," Kamui said. "The first-years are starting soon."

" **AH!"** Mt. Lady's sudden shriek startled the two who stood on either side of her. She shook in place as ire piled higher and higher. Her trembling grasp over the takoyaki box and said quaking only worsened the longer she stared at the open box. Another shriek escaped her suddenly, this time blatantly fueled by seething rage laid open and her sneer rose after Nagi's wake.

" **THAT LITTLE BRAT TOOK MY TAKOYAKI!"**

The cry echoed far enough for Nagi to hear it but she didn't pay it much attention. Instead, she beckoned with her finger at the skewer of takoyaki that rushed beside her. Taking it, she munched down on the fried ball of octopus trying to savor the rush of flavor in vain before it dropped dead in her stomach. It'd keep her somewhat fed. At least long enough to shut her stomach up for a while.

Nagi groaned when she couldn't quite taste the takoyaki anymore and used the frustration to speed up instead, hoping that their break came sometime soon.

* * *

 _Ain't it just my luck._

Keeping eye contact was hard considering Iida's obvious exasperation with her tardiness. The sports festival seemed to turn his Class Prez uptightness up a notch—or maybe a couple eleven. Whatever the number, it was definitely worse than usual.

And it upped his nagging with it.

"We are minutes away from entering the stadium and you nearly missed it, Chitanko-kun!"

His scolding followed her through the door, even somehow through covered ears, and caught everybody's attention when they stepped into the prep room. The friendly faces smiling with varying degrees of pity as she entered settled her heart's hammering from a few moments ago. Nagi patted Iida's shoulder with a haughty smirk on her lips..

"My bad, pres. I'll try harder next time."

Ignoring his blatant lecture, she skipped over to the lockers to shove her duffel bag inside before a tap on her shoulder turned her about to meet Ochako's sweet, round face. Light brown eyes looked between her bag and her before the meek smile gave away the empathy surely coming to her mind.

"You overslept again?"

"Didn't hear my alarms." Nagi gave her duffel bag another strong shove at the reminder before slamming the locker door closed before it could come out. The sudden halt of such a hectic morning's rush drained her and left her hollow for an instant as she tried regaining her breath. Without a warning, she slammed her forehead against the locker hard enough for Ochako to recoil. "I set up so many, too."

"Must be a heavy sleeper, huh?" Mina leaned back in her chair, her amber irises staring back at her. A wide smile split her precarious expression as she tugged at Nagi's opened jacket. "Those dark eyes say a lot, though. Didn't get much sleep?"

"No idea what you mean. Oh, look, water. Good, I'm thirsty." Nagi averted her gaze realizing that the bottled waters across the room looked way more interesting than the conversation they wanted to have.

Being reminded of her shortcomings wasn't something she fancied at the moment. She wasn't talking about her inability to get to anything on time either. Nagi was tired. Exhausted, actually. An all-nighter did that to people. Though she reckoned she wouldn't be so damn cranky about it had she made some actual progress with cracking Yuuei's code. Two weeks had gone by since she texted Yori about it and she had miserably failed on her word.

Suzume's access had only gotten her so far into their system. Though she got plenty of information on the students currently enrolled, Nagi didn't find anything about the faculty. Those were blocked behind more walls that she could count, much less break through. And Love Lover was nowhere to be found online either, so no help from her teacher was coming anytime soon.

Long story short, she couldn't get through—no information meant no progress. And in spite of it irking her to hell and back, it also had a tiny part of her relieved, funnily enough. Frankly, Nagi didn't know which to be more mad about. A water bottle in hand became the target of her frustrations, but the simple plastic cap became a nuisance fast when it wouldn't budge.

"You appear rather irate today." Her turquoise glare snapped to Tokoyami when he spoke up, changing at the drop of a hat into her sweet smile. Despite the sudden change, Tokoyami could still see the tick in her jaw that she couldn't hide. "I daresay more so than other days."

"Who, me?" A chuckle strained out of her as she tried and fail over and over at opening a plain cap. Nagi snapped after one too many tries. Not willing to put up with it anymore, she stabbed the cap through with a thin piece of her bracelet before shaping it into a straw. All with a painted-on smile on her face with the obvious tick still present. "What could possibly have given you that idea?"

Tokoyami recoiled a tiny bit at the sudden stabbing before looking elsewhere. "Nothing in particular."

Fed up with everything so far, Nagi plopped down on the floor, legs crossed, and drank away from her makeshift straw in relative silence, her cheeks puffed and tinted slightly red while she glared at nothing in particular. It wasn't until the low timbre of Todoroki's voice rang in her ears that she bothered looking up from her bottle.

"Midoriya."

The mess of mossy hair that was Midoriya didn't take long to reply, though to her it seemed he was quaking a little in his shoes at the tone Todoroki was taking with him.

"Todoroki-kun, what is it?"

A quick look about the room told Nagi that his call hadn't just caught her attention. The whole class was rapt with them because of it. Nagi slurped her water noisily not caring how it butcher the awkwardness and ogled away at the show.

"Looking at things objectively, I think I'm stronger than you. But...All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?"

 _He does?_ Now that Todoroki brought it up, Nagi counted the times she'd seen All Might asking for a word with Midoriya or even asking him to have lunch together with him. Back then, things like that didn't seem all that weird. But now that he mentioned it? She stopped counting when she ran out of fingers.

"I'm not prying about it, but I'm going to beat you."

Cold. Calculative. Assertive. And _just_ a touch passive-aggressive.

Todoroki couldn't have been dourer had someone kicked his puppy. A declaration of war, huh? Not something she imagined happening in their class. Not when everyone was so friendly towards one another. Well, _almost_ everyone _._ Nagi admired Kirishima's attempt to break the sudden confrontation apart but she thought it as useless as Todoroki claimed it to be.

"We're not here to play at being friends. So what does it matter?"

Nagi caught his attention for a split second, their eyes meeting briefly with her random placement on the floor. But it went away as soon as it came and he walked right past her without a second thought. Nagi's stare stayed on him even after he'd passed her by. Those eyes—in spite of one side's clear resemblance to her, Nagi still couldn't fathom how Todoroki was Rei's son. Especially when she compared her sweet and quiet demeanor to his cold one.

"Todoroki, I'm not sure why you felt the need to tell me you'll beat me…" Stunned he would actually answer back, she finally tore her eyes away from Todoroki to gape at Midoriya's strong resolve. "But of course you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people...looking at it objectively."

 _What a downer._

"But, everyone—" The sudden rise of his voice made her let go of her straw at last and lean back to listen closely. "The students from the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind." _Click._ "I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."

 _Going at it with everything, huh?_ Nagi's gaze dropped to the tiled floor as she mindlessly started biting down on the titanium straw.

Right. This wasn't a time to play around. This time she had to go at it with winning in mind. The code may have her at a loss but the sports festival...this was her chance to get further ahead into the other part of her plan. Becoming a hero would make things easier. And the first hurdle to get to that goal was scoring high here.

Dogged, Nagi bit down harder on the straw. It's sudden malleability bent it with the force of her bite and she pulled the bottle away from the straw before crumpling it in her hands.

Todoroki definitely wasn't the only one with a warpath in mind.

* * *

" **The huge battle where fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year: the U.A. sports festival!"**

 _Loud._

" **First up, you know who I'm talkin' about! The miraculous rising stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! The first-years of the hero course: Class A!"**

Way too loud and crowded for her taste.

What Aizawa said before about this being a great event that all of Japan tuned into hadn't quite set in until now—so many people, so obnoxiously noisy. It certainly settled a sick feeling in her stomach. Nervousness, maybe? It made sense. Nagi wasn't the only one, either, by the look of things. Everybody else looked somewhat unsettled by the large crowd that looked down on them from the hundreds of bleachers above. No apparent empty seats gave away that this was a full viewing. People came there specifically to see them compete.

How sickening.

Nagi rubbed circles over her stomach when she felt it turn on itself at the mere thought. Turquoise eyes strayed somewhere else and coincidentally found Yohsei not far from where she was. He wasn't looking quite upbeat about it either. Yohsei grasped at his ears, pulling them down against the sides of his head with trembling hands. If to block out the noise or simply to dispel some bad memory, she couldn't tell. By the way his eyes dropped as he walked and how he slouched over ever so slightly, Nagi placed her vote on the latter.

That wasn't a surprise. It wasn't like she couldn't feel the distinctive crawling of fingers on the back of her neck from so many eyes gawking. Instinctively, her hand reached back to dispel the obnoxious and nausea-inducing sensation. Tokoyami, catching her sudden apprehension, tilted his head her way.

"Anxious?"

"A little," nagi admitted. The sting of her nails digging a little too deeply into her skin brought a grimace to her face. She pulled away from my neck then, the sting giving her some sort of comfort from their gazes. "I'm not a fan of people staring at me."

"Don't sweat it, Chi!" Kirishima, being the bright ray of sunshine that he was, didn't wait long to cheer Nagi up when he overheard their chat. Enthused, he smacked Nagi's back with a solid hit making her stumble forward a few steps. "Once we get into the heat of things, those nerves are gonna go away. Just you see!"

"Hope you're right." It seemed unlikely but it's all Nagi had to hope for.

The knot of nerves that were her guts remained even after they reached the front stage with the rest of the first-year classes. Midnight, their chief umpire, cut to the chase quite fast, inciting the start of the sports festival by calling out the first-year that, by virtue of having scored highest in the entrance exam, was due to make the athlete's pledge.

Lo and behold, Bakugou stepped forward when she called his name.

 _So that's who took first place from me in the entrance exam._

It made sense, though it didn't take away from the fact that Nagi was somewhat irked about it. All eyes were on him as he made his way on stage, including her own. Bakugou being, well, _Bakugou_ , Nagi expected a spectacle.

"I pledge...that I'll be number one."

And, surely enough, he wasn't one to disappoint.

Everybody around them burst into a bout of shouts and complaints, all calling out how arrogant Bakugou was. Somehow by extension that also included them. It was aggravating to say the least but Nagi easily ignored the jabs when she spotted on Bakugou's expression. Unlike other times where he'd be haughty and high in his might when claiming something as absurd as that, his expression now was far from his usual sneer or smirk. To her, Bakugou was the most serious she had ever seen him. Even in spite of his words.

It reminded her of what Midoriya said back in the prep room. They were all there to be the best of the best. To climb over all others and shine brighter than anybody else. All to be cherry picked by pros and get closer to their dream.

And Nagi needed to outshine them all.

To do that, she'd need to get past a rather uptight and bombastic firecracker. And that wasn't even mentioning the rest of her class or first-years. Her stomach flipped upside down at the mere thought, but it also lit the faint embers that laid deep in her body.

Nobody was pulling their punches and it meant she couldn't afford to take them lightly either.

The faint embers roared to life and Nagi felt her bones quiver with anxiousness...and the oh so enticingly familiar eagerness that got her blood pumping through her veins.

"Now, let's get started right away." Midnight's call to attention did it's job and Nagi faced upward in time to see the large screen above her flash 'First Game' in bright neon orange letters.

The qualifiers. Supposedly meant to sift them out. In other words, competitive as hell. _No worries_ , she thought, the front of her foot tapping rhythmically against the floor. _You'll do good_. They wanted to cut their numbers but they still needed a good chunk of them for the next round. Under those circumstances, the qualifier round wouldn't be _that_ hard.

"Now, here is the fateful first game!" With a lavish swing of her flog, the screen flashed behind her and began spinning and flashing through the different games available for the qualifier. "This year, it's…"

 _...Could it?_

"This!"

Nagi's face blanched when the roulette stopped and the words 'Obstacle Race' glared at herwith vibrant colors contrasting against black.

 _Fucking hell._

It had be endurance. It just had to, hadn't it. Nagi couldn't help mumble curses under her breath while listening to Midnight's explanation of the game. All 11 classes would participate and run the outer circumference of the stadium in this— _four kilometer race!?_

Running her hands down her face, Nagi groaned into them at the mere sound of it. Running wasn't her thing. She wasn't made to last long, much less four damn kilometers. _I ended last in the endurance training for fuck's sake!_ But that was then and this was now. Maybe she'd gotten better over the last few weeks of training, as minimal as that had been on her part. Perhaps four kilometers wouldn't be all that bad now.

"Our school's selling point is freedom!" Midnight proclaimed with a lash of her flog skyward. "As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do!"

"Okay, that's a positive," she mumbled. Midnight pointed them to the starting point before long. Too busy thinking about what she could possibly do to make her prospects better, Nagi didn't catch hide nor hair of her when Ochako trotted to her side.

"Isn't it?" Ochako agreed, her expression brimming with determination. "It'll give us a lot to work with."

Tsuyu, who stood beside Nagi, nodded. "Certainly will." She gave both a dismissive wave as she made her way through the crowd a little. "Good luck, Ochako-chan, Nagi-chan."

Ochako returned the gesture gladly. A mildly reassuring smile was all Nagi could give in return. Skipping from one foot to the other, she hopped readying herself to shoot out as soon as those green lights blinked out.

One went out. Nagi could practically feel how tense everybody was around her.

 _Focus._

The second one blinked out. A plethora of shoes dug into the grass while others bent knees ready to sprint out at a moment's notice.

 _You gotta make a good impression._

The third one started to disappear. Her bracelets quivered with the pent up energy as she halted her hopping and slightly bent her knee.

 _You can't afford to fall behind anymore._

" **Start!"  
**

Everybody stampeded out of the stadium—only to get stuck in the narrow exit. People pushed her back and forward, shoving every part of themselves against her in failed attempts to get out. Many cries of how narrow it was crashed into her eardrums simultaneously. Damn claustrophobic was more like it. This was literally a sifter, and Nagi couldn't be wasting time stuck here. Shoving them out of her way, she pushed through to the nearest wall praying under her breath that the stadium wasn't made cheap. The moment her hand sprawled flat on the wall, the tingling rushing through her hand and up her arm split Nagi's face into a wide grin.

 _Gotcha._

Wasting no time, Nagi pulled her hand back and willed a piece of the stadium's titanium frame to jut out. It took less than a second to converge herself with it and, with the pace she set, brushed her fingers across the walls as she continued to will out pieces of titanium. They emerged like makeshift stepping stones and made crossing over the rest of the crowd easier by the second the more momentum she built up.

A sudden chill running down her spine cut the celebration short. Out of the blue, a sheen of white spread beneath her and swallowed the whole wall in a barrage of white. _Todoroki._ Suddenly hyperaware of it, Nagi kicked off before the titanium wrung she stood on froze over and jumped over the small crowd still below her that froze quicker than she thought possible. Focused ahead, the clean sheet of ice awaiting for her just outside the exit caught her attention. Nagi tucked her legs inward and, thinking on her feet, swiped her hands underneath her blue shoes. Swiftly and with no delay, her titanium bracelets clung to the soles of her shoes and turned into solid silver skates. The screeching of the blades on ice broke her fall and after balancing on them, kicked herself forward using Todoroki's ice to glide through.

Her smirk widened at the trick she managed to pull off and chuckled to herself. Quickly getting the hang of the stakes, Nagi gambled a glance back and whirled about on one foot just in time to see Bakugou explode overhead. Ducking fast, she still smelled the distinctive scent of burnt hair where his explosion managed to singe her. That took very little of her attention compared to the sight of the rest of the class getting through Todoroki's trap too.

Aoyama burst through the air leaving a trail of glittering light in his wake. Yaoyorozu, no surprise there, vaulted over with a pole she created from the palm of her hand. Tokoyami easily propelled himself out of the narrow exit with Dark Shadow's help. Even Mina managed to burn through the sheet of ice and get her footing back with the acid that poured from the soles of her shoes. More than half of them got through and even some from other classes managed to get out unscathed for the most part. An amazed whistle blew past her lips as she spun back around on her skates.

"Tough luck, Todo—ack!"

A block of ice suddenly jutted out in her way catching her off guard and unbalanced. Acting on instinct, Nagi kicked off with the tip of her skates and somehow vaulted over the block entirely. She scampered on the other side finding it hard to get a grip on her skates when little to no ice coated the ground there.

Nagi barked at him with the couple of high kicks back that she gave to dispel the skates before starting off on a run again. The blades liquified and stayed that way, hovering over her shoulders as an amorphous string of liquid. If anything happened now, it'd be much easier to mold like that. Nagi was still ways behind him and those in the lead but without knowing what else laid ahead, this was the best she'd be able to do without keeling over from exhaustion.

 _This ain't a sprint. It's a damn marathon._

Apparently, Mineta didn't possess that kind of common sense. Grape boy darted through the iced-over ground by bouncing off his spheres and passed most of them quicker than she expected out of him. Just as he launched at Todoroki though, a large machine's hand smacked him aside like a fly and sent him flying out of the way.

 _Ouch._

More than the concussion he would certainly have, the robots that blocked their way took Nagi's full attention and stopped her in her tracks, eyes rapted more than anything on the row of Zero Pointers.

"Targets found…" Their red tinted lenses scanned them for a split second before narrowing and blinking with a bright, scarlet light. "Lots!"

Present Mic's voice boomed across through the stadium's outer speakers reminding her exactly of what these things were.

" **Every obstacle course needs obstacles! Starting with the first barrier: Robo Inferno!"**

Instead of being distraught, a smile split Nagi's face with anticipation as the titanium gathered in her hand like a blob of thick water. One thought in particular crossed her mind the second she recognized them—faux villains would be the easiest damn obstacle to beat. All because of one little factoid she recalled from her entrance exam.

 _They're made of titanium._

Nagi didn't get a chance to throw the blob of titanium though. Todoroki, just like before, made his preemptive strike before anybody else could move. With seeming reckless abandon, he stepped forward, freezing the ground beneath him as he crouched in front of it to touch the ground. Nagi watched enthralled as the mere touch of his frozen hand burst into ice that swirled around him and extended towards the robot. The spring air turned gelid with the swipe of his arm an instant before it froze the robot in solid ice.

 _Goddamn._

Nagi knew he was strong. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he'd be powerful as one of the students that came in through recommendations. But this was bordering overpowered as hell. So in awe was Nagi that she completely missed him running through and just caught the tail end of his sentence when others went to get a head start under the robot he'd frozen.

"I froze them when they were unbalanced—they'll fall over."

The crashing of the robots got Nagi to recoil. For a second, she stared after him. _That little cheeky-ass bastard..._ The block of ice that had stumped her before hadn't been just for her. Todoroki meant to stump all of them as best he could. His declaration of war reverberated in her head and a crooked grin split her face. The embers in her belly roared to life at the sudden adrenaline that rushed through her veins. Her fingers twitched eager for her to tear those hunks of metal apart into nothing but junk.

Shouts from everybody around her snapped Nagi out of the sudden adrenaline rush when their panic about those caught under the Zero Pointers registered clearly in her mind. That urged her to move more than the adrenaline but just as she was taking a step forward to dig those underneath out, they burst out of the hunks of metals themselves. Hardened and steeled bodies allowed them to easily do that and she breathed a sigh of relief as spotting them well and alive.

The sudden explosions that set off behind her made her look back just as Bakugou soared through the air bypassing the obstacles without a problem. Sero and Tokoyami , along with those in their class who could gain some sort of height with ease, followed suit. No hesitation whatsoever. The sight of that just giddied her up and brought the adrenaline rushing back.

 _I've got some aces under my sleeve too, boys._

Setting her mind back in the game, she waited for Yaoyorozu to take down the Zero-Pointers before darting forth. In her sprint, Nagi bopped the hulks of metal lying motionless with the tips of her fingers, their weight bearing on her muscles as she did. The moment she felt about half the weight she could carry on her shoulders, she twirled with her arms opened wide to either side. All she touched—all that titanium in her control answered her call. Metal with titanium woven into it shredded away from the robots like shrapnel and, with the motion of her spins, became a storm of sharp metal around her.

"What—what is this?!" Nagi spun with her jump as she climbed over beaten down robots. She didn't spare a glance to Class B's copy of Kirishima— _Tetsu-something?_ _Iron Boy will do_ —as she passed him. Not even when the shrapnel recoiled off of his steel skin and did nothing but bug him.

"C-Chi!?" Kirishima covered his eyes with his hardened arms as the shrapnel twister grew larger and larger with every spin she gave before returning to her run. Nagi rushed past them and didn't look back as the rest of the competition followed behind them.

Many who saw the shrapnel coiling around her like a tornado didn't dare get any closer than it allowed. A lopsided grin parted her lips as she rushed towards the oncoming wave of robots. Spinning with each step and brandishing her arms out when needed, Nagi sent out small and sharp shards of metal their way. The hits came fast and precise enough to strike them in their red lenses where she recalled from the entrance exam would cause their short circuiting. They dropped like flies one after another and Nagi twirled every so often to keep her storm going.

" **Look at that cyclone of metal! Chitanko from Class 1-A keeps her opponents at bay and shreds through the robots with one heck of a storm!"**

 _Got that right!_

But being engulfed in her hustle and bustle made it almost impossible for her to notice the flash of bright purple zigzagging through her storm. It took her a moment before she made out exactly who it was. Cartwheeling, she caught several shrapnel on the sole of one foot as it rose and morphed them into a single spear before sending it flying when she stomped back down on the ground.

Unable to avoid the spear and the shrapnel at the same time, Yohsei jumped, undoing the symbiote from his legs and rapidly activating his shield. The purple sphere blocked her spear and shattered it back into shrapnel that her control took back in one fell swoop. Without his speed up, though, he was only a tiny bit faster than her which gave her the chance to catch up to him.

Through pants and a smug grin, Nagi glanced back and forth between Yohsei and the path ahead to the next obstacle.

"You're getting—pretty fired up too—huh?"

Yohsei didn't reply. He kept his focus straight ahead towards the goal. Even his ears were plastered upward against his head and twitching every so often when a shrapnel from her storm struck his shield. Anytime she caught the shield flickering, Nagi tumbled forward to send another spear his way. Each time forcing him to keep the tattoo on his arms that conjured his shield active and holding him back from reconjure the tattoos on his legs that sped him up.

"So annoying!" he barked, baring his pointy canines at her.

"You think _that's_ annoying? Watch this!" Nagi sped up out of the blue and kicked off before going off on a handful of handsprings forward. Yohsei saw his chance to sprint past her but stopped dead in his tracks and reinforced the shield around him the moment her hands touched the ground. Each time either her hands or feet touched the floor, the shrapnel that had been swirling around her impaled the ground creating a makeshift spiked floor as wide as the track went.

And it took Yohsei aback long enough for her to gain a lead on him. She burst into a fit of laughter despite her breathlessness, tripping a bit over her own feet as she went back to her run. Nagi couldn't believe the lightness of her body. Even when she held onto such large amount of titanium, it had felt like a bunch of weightless feathers. Not even the flames burning hotter in her gut took away from that.

Nagi had no idea what to call this. Such a strange feeling—no, not strange. She's felt this before. So vividly and candidly that it threatened to burst right through her chest. This feeling—

 _Who cares? It's amazing!_

"Nagi-chan, watch out!"

Ochako's warning didn't reach her fantasizing head quick enough. The floor beneath Nagi disappeared from one step to the next and before she knew it, gravity did it's thing. Instincts firing into overdrive, she managed to grab hold of the thick rope being held taut between cliffs. Encouragement from the lightning fast heartbeat of hers to avoid the face-to-face chat she could have with the ground beneath worked wonders to have a better grip on the rope and hoist herself up onto it. Her mind a mess from the scare, it took Mic's announcement for her to understand just what the hell happened to the floor.

" **If you fall, you're out! If you don't wanna fall, then crawl! It's 'The Fall'!"**

 _Screw you and your dumbass obstacles, Yuuei!_

Ochako and Mina, the angels they were, helped Nagi get back onto solid ground quick after Mic's announcement. Still a bit shaken, she clung to Ochako's leg while the two of them wondered how in the world they would cross to the other side. When a familiar 'ribbit' cutely croaked through the air, Nagi stared bug-eyed after Tsuyu as she easily made her way across the obstacle like a tightrope.

"Frogs are lucky," she mumbled under her breath.

A sudden glare hurt her eyes and made Nagi cover them to avoid it. Nothing distracted her from the mischievous chuckling coming from the girl with pink dreadlocks that suddenly made her way through the crowd to stand up front though. It wasn't so much that either as much as how decked out she was in gear.

"Here it is—my chance to show off!"

"You're from the support course?" Ochako's exclaim rumbled all the way through to her.

"What? It's okay to bring in items?" Clearly annoyed by the apparent bias, Mina pouted visibly.

 _For support courses, maybe._ She didn't know many people who delved in support—actually, Nagi knew only _one_ person who did and they didn't even go there—but from what she recalled, those in support courses were allowed to use equipment that they had developed themselves. And from how decked-out she was, this girl surely had more than a handful to work with.

Seeing her take off and jump through the air like nothing reminded Nagi of one very similar thing she could do to those hook shots of the support girl.

 _You're still not jointed well enough together to converge!_

Nagi cringed when her brain reminded her of that itsy bitty fact. Damn, that all-nighter was coming back to bite her in the ass. Hard. But as more and more students started crossing the obstacle, panic began to set in. If she didn't hurry, she would lose all the lead she got in the first obstacle. If she fell too far behind, there wouldn't be a chance for her to get into the second round. And her chance to make her impact in this sports festival would in there.

 _No, I can't lose here. I can't afford to fall behind anymore._

Not when she knew firsthand what her straggling back cost others.

Screw being jointed together correctly. Nagi could deal with broken bones any day.

Determined to see her idea through, she stepped back to leave herself enough space to get a good enough running start. Her fingers weaved through the air as the amorphous titanium solidified and flew towards the closest lone island. Doing what she'd done during their training at USJ, she used the momentum to jump off and converge towards the next island. Nagi somehow solidified her bones fast enough upon landing, avoiding them breaking altogether, with a low 'yes!' escaping her at her success. Not wasting time, she hauled the titanium spear lodged not far ahead to hurl it towards the next island before converging to it as well.

Only a few times did she miss reforming her legs but the minor cracks that caused only sent small pricks of pain through her. Certainly not enough to stop her from moving forward.

With convergence, it didn't take her long to catch up with the support girl from before. Those hover boots of hers made her click her tongue at how much faster they made her in comparison. That didn't matter though. So long as she got to the next obstacle—so long as she made it through the second round.

 _That's all that matters._

" **And now, we've quickly arrived at the final barrier!"** _Shit._ Todoroki must've already made his way there. But she wasn't that far behind. It wasn't a lost cause yet. **"The reality here is that it's a minefield!"**

"A what!?"

Fucking hell. They weren't kidding.

By the time Nagi reached the minefield, plenty others already had. Some were even setting mines off and getting blown away by them. The pink smoke was a tacky touch in her opinion. It didn't let her see anything ahead of her so long as it clung low. Though her gut urged her to rush forward, her brain told her to wait. For once, she listened to the latter and took a moment to take in her surroundings. With a handful ahead, it'd be a tad bit easier to get through the minefield by just following what they avoided. But doing that wouldn't get her anywhere near the lead.

 _And if I'm going for it, I ain't half-assing it anymore._

There wasn't a way to throw her spear far enough to reach the other side of the minefield. Not without having it in sight. She couldn't just haphazardly throw her spear and converge to wherever it landed either. That left her landing on a mine up to chance—and with how particular luck always was, no way was she leaving that up for grabs.

No, the best choice would be to trudge through it. Carefully.

Explosions alerted Nagi to a particular firecracker that sped through without caring about pesky mines that he could easily avoid. Present Mic's announcement made it more than clear where he went off to.

" **And now, we've got someone new in the lead!"**

Bakugou wasn't the only one either. Lots of others were starting to catch up and leaving her further behind. It set on fire the wick of Nagi's panic and it had one hell of a short fuse.

 _Ah, screw it!_

Training her eyes on the floor was a good enough strategy to spot out the mines. Present Mic hadn't been kidding about how they were a little obvious. Not obvious enough though. There wasn't a way she'd make it anywhere near the top with this pace. Her bracelets quivered in tandem with her racing heart at the panic that set off in no time flat. Dropping them to her palms to hold them gave her little solace while her thoughts raced through the hopeless maze her head became.

It wasn't until she heard digging that she stopped to look over her shoulder. She blinked a couple of times at the sight of Midoriya digging through the minefield with a piece of robot from the first obstacle. Perplexed, Nagi couldn't even understand what the hell he was doing with all those undetonated mines.

Not until a split second before when he strapped the robot part in front of him and nosedived into the bunch of mines.

 _He's—_

Pink smoke exploded like some glittery unboxing. It blocked Midoriya from view but not for very long. The explosion from all those mines he hoarded was strong enough to send him flying across the minefield towards the goal. All her awe vanished though, the instant she saw the robot part again.

Flying.

 _Moving._

" **Class A's Midoriya is in hot pursuit with that blast!"**

A feral grin split her face as she hurriedly weaved one of her bracelets into a spear and sent it flying towards Midoriya. Her target was clear in her sight and only partially obscured by pink smoke. It was still visible though. Visible enough to take advantage of it.

" _Misshimmisshimmisshim!_ "

It missed Midoriya—

And pierced right through the robot part instead.

" **Actually, he's taken the lead!"**

The tingling coursing through her fingers wasn't ignored. All hesitation gone and worthless, Nagi took her chance and converged with it just as Midoriya flew past Todoroki and Bakugou. It violently yanked her tearing a bit at her insides from the sudden forceful jolt. But setting aside the pain let her focus on keeping her control steady—for as long as it flew in the sky and gave her momentum, it had value.

And it'd take her far.

" **And look who's riding his coattails! Propelling herself through the air behind Midoriya is Class A's Chitanko!"**

Nagi's eyes stung when she opened them once through the pink smokescreen. Her focus, though, remained rapt on her control. Connecting with Midoriya's metal plate told her plenty—his speed, the weight on it, its direction—and it told her exactly when that speed started to falter. Her head snapped ahead just in time to see Midoriya losing height.

Fast.

Though the change of height added to the kinetic energy coursing through her, it wouldn't be enough to propel her ahead of those three, least of all out of the minefield. Making things worse, her bones were quaking. Though not completely solid, they still maintained some vague shape of what they were—that took a heavy toll on her. They wouldn't last shapeless like that much longer. Not without breaking.

 _No, I'm not out yet_. Nagi still had one more shot. Her right fingers gripped her one remaining bracelet and hauled it ahead towards the end of the minefield she could now see. Her left hand trembled at the sudden action. _Shit._ Using the speed she built up with Midoriya to propel the spear she just threw was costing her more than just momentum and height. It was weakening her control; it wouldn't last much longer on that robot shield.

 _It'll last. It will!_

Her other bracelet was still flying across and hadn't pierced the ground yet. It was still gaining speed. The one latched onto Midoriya's shield would lose speed soon. Nagi wouldn't let go of her convergence a second before it lost it all. And she was losing height...right above a mine.

This had to be _just_ right.

Her bracelet needed all the speed it could get to get her all the way across the minefield. She couldn't let go of Midoriya's robot part yet, not until it touched the ground and lost every bit of speed it had. And the mine—it was useful, but only if she stepped on it right.

Just fast enough. Just close enough. Just _right_ enough.

 _Everything. Just. Right._

The spear pierced the ground. A grand explosion set of ahead of her. Her foot stepped on the front edge of the mine.

 _Now!_

Her fist clenched—and she shot forward.

" **Midoriya swiftly blocks those behind him—no, wait! What's this? Cutting through the smoke is—!"**

Nagi shot through from the cloud of pink, feet tucked beneath her as she and her bracelet converged where the other had landed just ahead of Midoriya's path. She curled into herself and landed with a tucked roll before stumbling to her feet just fast enough to keep a bit of her lead.

" **Chitanko takes the lead from Midoriya with a spectacular landing!"**

Her lungs were burning. Her muscles were aching and in desperate need of oxygen. And her bones—she could barely keep herself together after converging for that long. Even so, she ran and ignored all of it. Pain didn't matter. Making it through this ahead of them all did.

Scruffy, redhigh tops came into view along with a winded breath that sounded way too close for comfort. A few side glances told her what she already knew. Midoriya caught up.

" **Midoriya and Chitanko are duking it out it to snatch the lead. Who will come out victorious?"**

 _I won't give up. Not yet. Not while I still can—_

Crack.

What felt like fire scorching her from the inside shot up from her thigh all the way up her spine in cracked something in her brain. It was too audible to mistake and Nagi gasped from the sudden pain. Caught off guard by it and unable to keep her concentration anymore, her legs crumbled beneath her like a broken doll's, sending her tumbling face first to the ground. Creeping ice and heated explosions didn't hesitate to pass her as she forced herself to sit up. Nagi tried standing but the amount of pain that shot through her when she did forced her back down. Limbs immobilized from broken parts, Nagi cursed when she inevitably heard more footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.

Bitter tears sprung from her eyes but instead of choking on them, Nagi used that bitterness to force her Quirk to activate and reform her legs. It didn't matter how they came out. It didn't matter if they weren't going to stay that way for long. It didn't matter if they were hurting more now than they did when they broke.

None of that mattered so long as she could get through that gate.

Pushing herself to her feet, she shambled a bit in her awkward sprint as her fingers worked through her skeleton. _Keep going._ Midoriya, Bakugou and Todoroki were already far gone. She could hear the others much closer than before now. _Almost there._ Her legs went numb for a brief moment before the searing flames in her stomach shot up again with even worse pain flaring up her spine with every step.

 _Just a little bit more, Nagi._

" **U.A. sports festival, first-year stage! Who could've predicted the developments at the beginning or this conclusion? Right now, the first person back in the stadium is that man—none other than Midoriya Izuku!"**

So close.

" **Coming close behind are Todoroki Shouto and Bakugou Katsuki with second and third!"**

Nagi trudged through the ice and smoke, determined to make it through regardless of the pain.

" **And despite the loss of her lead, she's making it into the top five: Chitanko Nagi!"**

The moment she crossed the goal and took a few steps away from it, Nagi collapsed onto the floor face first. Groaning into the floor, she turned herself over, huffing and puffing from exhaustion as she stared at the confetti fluttering colorfully down from the sky.

Fourth.

 _That's not so bad._

But not good enough either.

"Nagi-chan!" "Chitanko-kun!"

Nagi could barely turn her head to the side to meet Ochako's and Iida's worried gazes. All she could offer was a weary, lopsided grin that only showed a little bit of the pain coursing through her still.

"What happened?" Iida asked. His eyes darted between her face and her legs rather quickly. That told Nagi exactly what he'd seen from his place in the race. _It's an ugly sight when it happens, huh?_ "Your legs—"

"You were so close! So frustrating that you lost your lead like that!" Ochako—blessing in disguise that she was—changed the subject quickly enough that Iida had no chance to finish his sentence. There wasn't a part of her that wanted to get into that conversation with them anytime soon.

Nagi let out a dry chuckle as she forcefully sat herself up and started rubbing at her legs. To them, it wasn't much more than her rubbing the soreness out of her muscles from the long run. For her, it made it easier to remold her brittle bones into shape after they had snapped so badly on the stretch run.

"I ain't made for endurance."

That was all the excuse given before she asked for some help to get up by reaching up with open hands. Ochako and Iida quickly bent over to hoist her up. Her makeshift joints pop audibly as the weight of being upright pushed them into place. Nagi sighed in relief at the ebbing pain. It would be a slow recovery from that, but in a few hours it would maybe feel like nothing more than some old, aching muscles if she was lucky. Nagi smiled back at them reassuringly once she got used to the pain of standing back up again.

"But fourth isn't all that bad." With a playful nudge to Ochako's shoulder, she winked at her, "Neither is top twenty."

Ochako's expression brightened at that and a toothy smile spread across her face. "Right!" When Midnight summoned them back to the front stage, Nagi sent them ahead as she bent down to tie her shoes. A lie, but her ankles needed a little more attention before they were anywhere close to functionally jointed.

Just as she was done, a large shadow hovered over her blocking most of the sun from shining down on her. By the look on his face, Iida certainly had something on his mind. Nagi could only guess what it was. It was while she got back up, about to open her mouth to urge him back towards the stage, that he spoke up, rather upfront about what was bothering him.

"You should spare time to visit Recovery Girl. You must be in pain after what happened to your legs."

 _So he did see them snap._

Nagi suspected as much. No doubt others probably saw it too. So much adrenaline from the race however probably didn't give them a chance to put much attention to her. Not Iida, though. Not their ever diligent class president. Her lips purse into a tight-lipped smile before giving a flippant punch to his shoulder and skipping ahead of him to dismiss his words.

"C'mon! Midnight's gonna start announcing the next stage!"

The top 42 would be moving on to the next round. That included most, if not all of their class. Yohsei too, despite her interference, got into that number. Not as high but still, high enough to get through. Pride and uneasiness mixed together inside her and twisted her guts.

 _I must be getting hungry again._

"Now then, here is the second game! I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be?"

 _I wonder when lunch is gonna be?_

The roulette stopped and Nagi groaned at the bright, orange letters that spelled out 'Cavalry Battle'.

"A cavalry battle? I'm bad at those…" Kaminari despaired not far from her and Nagi couldn't help but add to his comment.

"You can say that again."

"Don't get why we're teaming up when it's an individual event." At spotting her sudden dejection, Jirou, who stood rather close by, pointed at her with one of her earphone jacks with sudden realization plastered on her face. "You don't look too crazy about the idea either."

"Well, it's not like I can't work in a team." Her retort that was intended to spur away her misery only did the opposite when Midnight began explaining about the cavalry—and how only teams of two to four were allowed. "But..."

"But?"

"I can be...a _little_ too..."

"Impulsive to negotiate with?" Tokoyami offered, arms crossed while pensively staring ahead and splitting his attention. Nagi visibly flinched at the jab.

"Too much too handle?" Kirishima added being a few people ahead of them but clearly having heard their conversation regardless. Another jab and she recoiled from his sincerity.

"Dogged to a fault," Yohsei quietly added without a hint of remorse.

"Alright already!" she snapped. Yohsei only folded his ears close against his head to avoid the brunt of her shriek.

The snap of Midnight's whip caught them off guard, all four flinching back to face her. Irked about their jabs, Nagi focused instead on what their umpire said. A point-based cavalry battle—they're points distributed in intervals of five depending on their results from the obstacle race. _So that means that the higher the individual points, the higher the points the team has as a whole._ Nagi's eyes skimmed through the list of names that appeared on the screen along with their respective points. Increments of five, alright. Which meant that fourth place got her…

195.

"Not bad."

"And the point value assigned to first place is…" Turquoise eyes widened at the ridiculous amount of zeros added to the number just three places above hers. No way could she contain the chortle that came over her at the sight of it _._ "Ten million!"

 _Rest in pieces, Midoriya._

No way was anybody _not_ gonna go after those juicy ten million points. Certainly made the competition even. Anybody who got those ten million, regardless of their current spot, could jump up to first place in this round.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

It wasn't too difficult to understand, this cavalry battle. They only had fifteen minutes to battle other teams for points by snatching away headbands. Forty-two of them meant that there'd be lots of different teams with no way to tell where points ended up until the game started. And the cherry on top—it'd be a Quirk galore. Her titanium bracelets quivered as the exhilaration coursed through her. For some dumb sports festival this would certailny give her some much needed outlet.

 _No, Nagi! No screwing around, remember?!_

"Right, right," she mumbled under her breath. Thinking of this objectively, it wouldn't be as hard as the obstacle race. That was a given with the area they were in being the boundaries of the cavalry battle. Being chased or chasing others in kind wouldn't be a problem there. It wouldn't put too much strain on her reforming bones either. Almost everything looked like it could go right for once.

All but one thing.

"Now, you have fifteen minutes! Time to build your teams!"

 _Now that's going to be a pain in the ass..._

* * *

" **Hey, sorry I can't answer right now. Work just never ends."** A smooth chuckle came from the message before it said, **"Beep's coming, so do your thing!"**

Suzume groaned and pressed the lock button on her phone, her annoyance blatant from the way she hit her forehead with her phone. The one time she hoped he ditched worked was the one time he _didn't_. Figures. Her brother was anything but predictable. And always—no matter the circumstances—was so much trouble to find when he didn't want to be found. It wasn't a surprise but it did bother Suzume.

Especially, today of all days.

 _You promised you'd watch the festival, Satsu._

It had been quite the surprise when he mentioned he would watch U.A.'s sports festival that year. Especially when he seldom did. The times he had before were purely for entertainment and never in search of prospective interns. According to him, taking care of kids wasn't his thing. That in itself was rather shocking since Suzume knew of one in particular that he had taken kindly to. That reminder spun her about to head back towards the staff's viewing box all the while redialing his number one more time. With it's excellent view, that box was certainly worth the sprint she took from the second-year's stage to the first-year's.

She had missed the obstacle race, having arrived just as most of the stragglers were finishing, but that both Nagi and Yohsei passed on to the second round delighted her. They were giving it their all and pulling through. She expected it from Yohsei; he had been so adamant about always having time to train for it even when their sessions ran longer than scheduled. His determination was quite palpable. He clearly wanted to succeed. _I'm sure you will, Yohsei-kun._

What Nagi did, on the other hand, was anybody's guess. Though she tried enticing some enthusiasm in her, Nagi hadn't looked particularly taken by the idea of the sports festival. It worried her the way she'd been unusually quiet during their last sessions. Though not uncharacteristic, it was unsettling. More so than before for some reason.

" **Hey, sorry I can't answer right now. Work just never—"** Suzume locked her phone before the answering machine ended its message.

"Come on, Satsuki. Really?"

 _If you weren't going to come, then at least let me know you're watching._

That at least would garner some kind of reaction from Nagi other than the apathy and somber disinterest of late.

"Young Shishio." Suzume jumped a bit from the sudden call and turned to find All Might just coming back from the opposite hallway. "You arrived at last."

"Yes, sorry about the delay. I promised a student I would see a little bit of the second-year performance if I could."

"I see. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't your brother invited to spectate as well? I have yet to see him around."

"He was. I've tried calling him but he isn't answering." Dejectedly, Suzume pocketed her phone and opened the door for the two of them to enter. All Might entered with a curt 'thank you' before guiding her to one of the empty sits behind his row.

"Well," All Might said, "Surely he has a good excuse."

"I'm sure he does," she mumbled.

Looking over his shoulder, All Might pointed out at the arena where, from what she could see, they were starting the second round of the festival. A cavalry battle if she recalled what Kayama told her correctly. Teams. The thought of it brought a particular blue-eyed pink head with horrid social skills to mind.

"Are they making their teams?"

"Yeah, they've got a few more minutes before the event starts." Snipe kept his gaze ahead at the students as he leaned back in his chair, "It'll be interesting to see what kind of teams they form."

Five minutes till it started. Opening her phone one last time, Suzume texted her brother a single, curt message before settling in on her own chair.

' **Don't break your promise, Satsu.'**

* * *

"You ain't snatching her away!"

Nagi bared her teeth and held tightly to one person's arm in particular, but Todoroki wasn't budging. The slight furrow of his brow gave away just the kind of headache she was starting to induce.

"Quit it with your tantrum. I asked her first, and she agreed."

"Says who?"

"Don't be a sore loser, Osoku-chan."

"Buzz off, Whey-chu."

Yaoyorozu couldn't stand the childish argument anymore and stepped in. Her hand pressed softly over Nagi's where she held onto her arm like an anchor. The touch suddenly directed the turquoise puppy eyes up at her and she gulped at the undivided attention.

"I apologize, Chitanko-san, but Todoroki-san did ask me before you did. And as he said, I already agreed."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And he didn't force you?"

"Not in the slightest."

Nagi pursed her lips, pouting for a moment, and with a fell sigh released her, completely dropping the childish facade. "Fine," she drawled.

Unable to believe her sudden change, Yaoyorozu blinked at her astonished. Kaminari blurted out without thinking, also not understanding how she could've just let her go after adamantly fighting over Yaoyorozu for the past minute.

"Y-You're gonna let it go just like that?"

Nagi simply shrugged her shoulders as she walked away. Inside, though— _Damn that Todoroki!_ _Yaoyorozu was my best bet!_ The bit of scouting she'd done gave away just how quickly many of the others had already made their teams. And that had been her last sure bet to make one. Scanning the arena, her eyes instantly swept back to the counter that showed only 3 minutes remaining. If Nagi didn't find a team soon, she'd find herself disqualified.

 _Fuck if I'm getting out because of this._

Sprinting out, she searched vehemently for anybody with a spot available. And though she found a few, most preferred their own classmates and outed her, some more kindly than others.

"Damnit!"

 _One more time!_

Nagi looked over the arena once more. Just as she was starting to lose hope, she perked up the moment she spotted a rather messy blue head by himself. A sudden idea popped to life at the sight of him. _Of course!_ How could she have been so damn blind? Not taking any chances, she ran her way to Yohsei who jumped at her sudden appearance.

"Yoh-chan!"

The jolt sent his ears shooting upward and their fur to stand on end as he gripped at his chest. "Nagi-san!?"

"Yoh-chan, do you have a team?"

"I…I don't." Yohsei deflated quickly at the reminder, but that only made Nagi's grin wider. She dove instantly to grab a hold of his hands and fervently shook them. Startled, Yohsei jostled around from the force until she inevitably stopped.

"Be my rider!"

"What?"

"It's perfect!" She released his hands and stepped back as her bracelets came to life with the excited gestures of her hands. "You're small enough that I can carry you no problem! Of course I'd need to tweak something to let me carry you—but that's the least of our problems! With Pix, you can speed me up to catch up to teams and easily snatch away headbands while I protect you from others. It's foolproof!"

"Wait-wait a minute, Nagi-san!" The sudden assertion stopped her in her tracks, the titanium coming to a halt along with her. Ears sprung back against his head and brow knitted down, Yohsei stepped forward ready to make himself heard. "You're not thinking practically about of this. Perhaps we could do something like that, but it'll be way too hard with just the two of us."

"We don't really have a choice here!" Frantic, she pointed back at the timer that ticked down on one minute. Silver eyes gave it a brief glance before his ears dropped in sullen resignation. Back on Nagi, he could only sigh in defeat at the sight of her hands clasped together and one eye sheepishly winking at him while a crooked smile pled with him to accept.

"C'mon, Yoh-chan. Who better than us together?"

She technically wasn't wrong. Yet he couldn't stop himself from shuddering.

 _Suck it up, Yohsei. You need her. So just this once...deal with it._

His shuddering left with the clearing of his throat as his ears slowly backed against his head once more. "Fine, but if I'm going to be the rider, then you're following my lead." Nagi pursed her lips ready to oppose him, but the moment he saw that, Yohsei shut her down. "It's that or we both get disqualified."

Nagi gasped, incredulous. "You wouldn't."

"Don't test me." A brief look behind her told the two just how close that clock was to zero, "So make your choice and make it fast."

With not much of a choice, Nagi gave him a curt nod.

"You've got your horse."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Ha-ha! An update within the month! I gotta say, I didn't think I would crank this out as fast as I did. I guess I found a way to push me through writing when I'm feeling stuck :D Mm, the page count was a little deceptive, so I'm sorry about how short this chapter was. Lots of action got me shortening my sentences a lot (wu). I hoped it was enjoyable all the same!**

 **We're finally on the Sports Festival! Yay~ I can't wait for the cavalry battle, 'cause Nagi's gonna meet a special little someone who's gonna get in her head, or is he? And also the fights, although they might/might not start next chapter, I'm hyped about those.**

 **I'd like to thank the wonderful people who've favorite and followed this story recently. A big thank you to** _Fireandice4664, RtSp, Love Remedy, Vivikini, LadyShadowhuntress, KaylanaAnthene, Raiden Jones, Blackrabbz76, Amares, Blackenflames, ShadowHeart251,_ **and** _Zoie10135_ **! And also a huge thank you and lots of hugs to the lovelies who reviewed last chapter! I haven't done this for years now, but because I'm busy with other stuff and often forget, I'll reply to review in the a/n's.**

 _Guest:_ **Oh, wow, 130k? I didn't even noticed. And here I'm thinking my chapters are short xD I'm super glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Hope you enjoy everything up till now as well :D**

 _SoratheknowledgeDevourer23:_ **Yeah, Nagi's got some big problems and I'm hopeful that when that meltdown eventually comes ('cause believe me, it's a long time coming but it'll come!) it'll be well earned. Also, your headcanon ain't just a headcanon ;D**

 _Aviantei:_ **Thanks for the kind words with the pacing. You have no idea how much I was kicking myself about breaking her reaction right. As for the handouts, it was more to remark the kids in class 1-a. People that were tangible and alive. The number of kids from the facility will come later :3 The scene with All Might was a spur of the moment thing that popped into my head while I was trying to sleep like at 3am. Thank my exhausted brain for that comedic relief. Nagi's coping mechanisms are very brute force driven indeed. Even if she got self-care reminders, believe me, she wouldn't listen. Not how she is now (-w\\) And Yori. Sweet, sweet, psychotic Yori. All I'm gonna say about him is I can't wait to get into his arc/backstory.**

 **Since there's not many, it's pretty quick :) But I love reading what you all think and will gladly answer anything you've got to in mind! Before I leave, let me leave a little something here. It's something I jotted down not long after the last chapter and while brainstorming for these next ones in the SF arc. Think of it as a little crumb of the past to lead into the future ;3**

* * *

 **ACCESSING RECORDS...**

 **ACCESS AUTHORIZED.**

 **NOTE: DAMAGE TO FILES.** **PARTIAL** **RECOVERY ACHIEVED.**

 **MONTHLY EXAMINATION REPORT.  
** **Date: Sept 12, 2XXX**

 **==== SUBJECT INFO**

 **Designation: Beta**

 **DOB: 04/30/2XXX**

 **Sex: F**

 **Age: 10**

 **Height: 133**

 **Weight: 29**

 **Wing: B**

 **Room: 13**

 **Dominance:** _Data not found_

 **==== SUBJECT NOTES  
** **Last updated:** _Data not found_

 **As of September 5th, 2XXX, all personnel interacting with the subject must wear the appropriate equipment so as to avoid injury.**

 **==== PHYSICAL RESULTS**

 **BMI** _Data not found_

 **HR 98**

 **SP 101**

 **DP** _Data not found_

 **TMP 37.8**

 **Eyes -** _Data not found_

 **Ears - Normal**

 **Teeth - Normal**

 **Extremities -** _Data not found_

 **Motor Functionality -** _Data not found_

 **Sensory Functionality - Normal**

 **Pain Tolerance (01-10) -** _Data not found_

 **==== PHYSICAL RESULTS (Q PLUS)**

 **HR 153**

 **TMP 42.0**

 **Strength -** _Data not found_

 **Triggered Activation - POSITIVE**

 **Sensitivity(01-10) -** _Data not found_

 **Control(01-10) - 04**

 **==== PHYSICAL NOTES  
** **Last Updated 09.5.2XXX**

 **The following behaviors have been noted and should be ignored in future examinations: twitching of upper extremities; biting; pyrexia; hyperpyrexia; harm to examiner; harm to self. Any attempts of self-harm are to be interrupted immediately.**

 **==== TEST RESULTS**

 **Physical Response Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Emotional Response Test ==** _Data not found_ **PASSED**

 **Physical Control Test == 40 FAILED**

 **Emotional Control Test == 18** _Data not found_

 **Natural Activation Test == 00** _Data not found_

 **Natural Suppression Test == N/A**

 **Q PLUS Activation Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Q PLUS Suppression Test ==** _Data not found_ **FAILED**

 **Group Integration Test ==** _Data not found_ **PASSED**

 **Assimilation Test == 42 FAILED**

 **Minor Threat Response Test == 100** _Data not found_

 **Minor Threat Elimination Test ==** _Data not found_ **FAILED**

 **Life Threat Response Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Life Threat Elimination Test == 100*** _Data not found_ ******

 **==== TEST NOTES  
** **Last Updated 09.5.2XXX**

 **Requested repetition of following tests: Q PLUS Activation Test;** _Data not found_ **; Assimilation Test;** _Data not found_ **; Life Threat Response Test; Life Threat Elimination Test.**

 **Requests authorized:** _Data not found_ **; Group Integration Test; Assimilation Test; Life Threat Response Test; Life Threat Elimination Test.**

 ***It was discovered that in spite of Beta 13's ASSIMILATION having failed during examinations, it rose to a passing percentage during her** _Data not found_ **. As of September 5th, 2XXX, all further** _Data not found_ **Tests are to be performed during LTE Tests for more accurate results.**

 ****Addendum: It was noted by another examiner as witness that it was indeed Beta 13's LTE Tests that triggered full ASSIMILATION by Alpha 3. Further tests required to verify the extent of their assimilation.**

 **==== END OF REPORT**

* * *

 **It's a mess but blame ff's format for it. Hope it makes sense. I might make more of these for others . There won't be many, just thought it'd be a little something I thought ya'll would enjoy having a peek at.**

 **Anyway, I must simply stop rumbling! I've said all I wanted after all. Thank you all, hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update :D I've got some cavalry battle goodness coming!**

 **Have a wonderful day/night,**

 **-** _Evie_


	11. Rudibium

**xi.| Rudibium**

— _A silvery-white and extremely soft metal, it shares similarities with other metals in physical appearance, softness and conductivity. It cannot be stored under normal oxygen pressure as it may result in its combustion. Derived from the Latin 'rubidus' meaning 'deep red' due to the color its emission spectrum._

* * *

Satsuki never understood the purpose of a hospital room with glass walls when he was younger.

It took away any and all privacy the patients could hope to have in their weakened state of mind and body. Nobody wanted their loved ones to see them in such conditions, much less the utter strangers that happened to pass by the halls at any given time of day. But now, as he watched a little, strawberry-haired girl sleeping in the small hospital room with bandages peeking out from underneath her gown through those same walls, he could understand why the psychiatric ward of one of Shizuoka's most notorious hospitals spent such a large sum of their revenue on such quaint quarters.

" _Satsuki."_

Turning to the gentle voice that called him, he met the identical jade gaze of his older sister, Suzume. Despite being three years apart they were as close as could be. And he supposed that when all they had was each other, it wasn't that much of a surprise. Straightened tresses swept back and forth as she walked briskly towards him, surely in an attempt to avoid the staff from bickering about running in the halls. Satsuki waited on the opposite wall facing the room without so much as a word. Hair smooth and black as ink spilled over her shoulders as she bent forward to regain her lost breath.

" _I'm sorry...for not meeting you...in front…"_

" _Don't worry about it,"_ he simply said, stroking her back to help her however he could.

" _Did the staff give you trouble?"_

" _They made a fuss when I just asked for you, but they let me in pretty fast when I gave them my name."_ His jade eyes turned back to the little girl sleeping on the other side of the glass. _"But forget about that for the time being. It's not like you to be rash, so it surprised me when you called me here the moment I landed back from America. Not only that but you did so without saying a word about why and just telling me to get here ASAP."_ Finally deciding that was enough of a point made, he turned his jaded gaze down the few inches of height that separated them. _"You're not one to keep secrets from me, Chun. That's not counting the fact that you suck at keeping them to begin with. But since I've been waiting for ten minutes, mind if I tell you what I came up with?"_

Lips pursed and her expression contorted with uncertainty. Satsuki took her silence as the green light he needed and took a moment to breathe in the air he'd need for the tirade he was about to throw her way.

" _Let's see,"_ he extended his hand outward. _"You and a whole lot of other heroes raided the farm that was hiding here in Shizuoka a few weeks ago. Finally got that madman arrested and solved a decade's worth of children abductions in the process. Now that the easy part is over, you're dealing with the aftermath treating the subjects that the facility didn't manage to get rid off."_ A finger extended out every time he pointed something out. With each point he proclaimed, Suzume's fair complexion paled further and further until he could easily confuse the color for the hospital's white, aseptic sheets.

The moment she opened her mouth, more than likely intent on asking how he knew all that, Satsuki raised his phone from where he'd hidden it behind his back. On the screen was a news website clearly displaying one of the myriads of titles that he'd read on his ride over to the hospital about said raid.

" _It's all over the news."_

Instantly, Suzume snatched the phone from his grasp, scrolling down and skimming the particular article. Satsuki simply stared ahead at the girl in the room that began to lightly stir in her sleep.

" _Of course, I know not to believe everything I read online, so I extrapolated a bit. There wasn't any mention of survivors, but since no heroes were seriously injured during the raid and you called me specifically to this hospital—the only one, mind you, renowned to have the best trained psychiatric staff in all of Shizuoka—I knew that wasn't true. Not only that but every news outlet I've gotten my hands on refers the place you raided as a 'Quirk farm'. But since our agency marked you down in the investigation as being involved because of, and I quote, your 'expertise', I could only assume it was another underground test center. Of course, that's naming only a few important points."_

Relieved out of her mind, Suzume heaved a long sigh before returning the phone to him. _"Don't scare me like that."_

" _Sorry, didn't mean to, but I'm not done yet."_ Locking his phone, he pocketed it before his hand reached the back of his neck were he scratched at a long scar along the nape of his neck. _"Despite there being mention of you and our agency, I didn't see any regarding what happened all those years ago. And if they searched his name, ours should have unquestionably popped up. Which leads me to believe,"_ a dark eyebrow of his raised at the anxious furrowed brow of hers as he paused briefly, _"that you have someone pulling strings behind the scenes and spreading all this misinformation."_

Satsuki stared at her for a moment too long before she cracked under his scrutiny.

" _I...have an acquaintance who works at the newspaper. They helped keep all that information hidden from the public eye."_

That was all he needed to formulate an idea of what she'd done. He didn't blame her, though. It wasn't like he wouldn't have done the same if it'd been him in her shoes.

" _Fair enough. Here's my last question then. Hiding us, I understand."_ He gave a curt nod to the room in front of him. He hadn't seen other children in the intensive care unit but if he had to guess, the strawberry-haired girl wasn't the only one alive. _"Why hide them?"_

" _I couldn't just leave them to the wolves, Satsuki. They've all suffered so much and it's all because we couldn't do anything to stop him sooner."_ Though his full attention was on Suzume, the sudden movement behind her and through those glass walls caught his eye. _"We should've said something, Satsu."_ Again, it moved and the strawberry head in the bed stirred as she sat up. Satsuki's eyes narrowed at the sight of her, completely ignoring Suzume as the linens rustled beneath the girl's body. _"If we had, none of these children would have suffered like this."_ A small spot of red bloomed from amidst the white. Jade eyes widened at the sight of it as from his lips her mumbled name came in a failed attempt to get her attention.

" _Suzume..."_

" _If we had done something—anything at all—so many of them would still be—"_

" _Suzume, the kid!"_

Storming past her, Satsuki pried the glass door open and made a straight line for the girl. The strawberry-haired kid didn't acknowledge them, her eyes much more fixated on the crimson stain spreading across her linens. Snatching the blanket away, his eyes widened at the poignant stench of blood and at the sight of it as it spilled from whatever wound hid underneath her gown and now stained the mattress beneath her a deep red. Her small hands dug into the wound on her thigh through the gown, her fingers prying at freshly stained bandages.

Satsuki instinctively tore her hands away from it and tried to calm her down. But almost instantly, she kicked up a fuzz, shrieking, kicking and biting at him to let her go. Though stronger than her, her hands slipped from his grip constantly, coated with the warm blood as they were, and kept going back to the wound to pry it further open.

" _Let me go!"_ she shrieked at the top of her lungs, her voice scratchy.

" _No—I-I can't do that,"_ he groaned amidst the struggle. When he saw that he couldn't pull her away, Satsuki pushed her hands down on the wound opting to put pressure on it with all their hands and keep her from tearing it open anymore. _"You'll bleed out like this."_

" _Let me go_ _ **now**_ _!"_

The instant her shout erupted, a sharp piece of something pierced from out of her leg. Some kind of metal, jagged and malformed, jutted out from the wound they'd been pressing and, by chance, caught his left ring finger in the process. Shock rushed through him like a wave of ice cold water, surprisingly more so than the pain. But the sight of his severed finger struck him harder than anything a second later and Satsuki staggered back while holding his bleeding hand against his chest. Still baffled by what occurred, his eyes traveled back to the girl that scurried back against her bed railing in a panic. Red-stained hands clutched behind her and he watched astounded as the railing crumpled like wet paper under her knuckle-whitening grasp.

As his own shock and the adrenaline from his injury subsided, his eyes fixated on one thing in particular that he couldn't ignore. The look on her face—the devastated expression that twisted it along with the blatant grief that permeated those bleak, turquoise eyes froze him in place more than anything else.

That look—he recognized it. An expression like that wasn't something he would forget for as long as he lived. He'd seen it one too many times on Suzume's jaded gaze to ever let that happen. The way she watched his every movement, how her eyes skittered between his bleeding hand and finger lying lifeless on the floor, and the manner in which her gaze flitted between the jagged metal jutting out of her leg and at him...

Fear and remorse like that were hard to forget.

" _Oh my god, Satsuki, your hand."_ Satsuki quickly quieted her with a swift raise of his good hand before cautiously turning to the frightened girl.

His lips opened but his voice died in his throat when the clamor of staff suddenly reached his ears. They must've been alarmed somehow, but that was the least of his worries. Turquoise eyes widened in horror at hearing them approach and the metal under her grasp quivered, along with the one jutting out of her leg.

 _If that thing comes out…_

Satsuki didn't hesitate and raised his uninjured hand outward towards the open door. The staff, in the blind hurry they were, crashed against the solid glass surface that now blocked their way. No attempt at grasping for handle work. That pane had no handle; it wasn't a door. A pane that thick would keep them out, he surmised. Not so much their clamoring though, and that was agitating her further still.

" _Hey, it's okay."_ Her eyes shot from the pane of glass he made back to him. When he noticed her about to recoil, he stayed in place, raising his hand in surrender. _"It's alright, I'm staying right here, okay?"_ Though she didn't move, he didn't dare to either. Her tight grip on the railings told him she was ready to spring at a moment's notice coiled up as she was, and that would only open her wound further. And if the paleness of her tanned skin and her shallow breathing were anything to go by, that was absolutely the last thing he wanted.

" _Nagi-chan, please, your wounds—"_

" _Don't!"_ she screamed and Satsuki jumped to push Suzume behind him, taking the chance to approach the bed with the leap. Now at the foot of the bed and just a few feet away from her, he noticed again how her gaze flitted between his injured hand and his eyes. Noticing the concern that started to appear in her expression, he tried a different approach and started with wry chuckle.

" _Hey, it's no big deal. It's only a finger. I'll be alright. But you're_ really _hurt, Nagi, and we need to take care of you."_ Her suddenly shuffling backwards made him slow down again and stay at the foot of the bed, _"So please, don't move. It'll make the bleeding worse."_

Chapped lips moved as she shook her head, mouthing something that her voice could barely follow. Soft as they were, though, he heard the few breathy words. A wry smile formed on his lips as he slowly shook his head.

" _That's not true."_

Despite him saying this, she repeated those weighty words that burdened her as tears pooled in her eyes. To his horror, small pieces of metal jutted out of and around the wound making her bleed even more with every repetition. When her words slurred and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, Satsuki lunged forward, catching her before she could fall off the bed. Undoing the mirror that kept the doctors and nurses outside, they rushed inside and worked like lightning to stem both their bleeding limbs.

Before he knew it, they took her away, the dreadful mention of 'surgery' drowning his thoughts as another doctor checked his severed finger. It wasn't until they dragged her away on a gurney to an operating room that the doctor told him what he already knew. The finger was as good as gone. Whatever Nagi had done not only severed the finger but partially cauterized the wound. Satsuki was versed enough to know there was no point in bothering reattaching singed vessels and nerves together. It wasn't until the last nurse that bandaged him left them by themselves in the sullied room that he dared interrupt Suzume's incessant apologies.

" _You were right."_

Suzume sniffled, wiping away at the bit of tears wanting to spring free. _"What?"_

" _We could've done something to stop this from happening, but we didn't."_ He turned his hand one way then another, finding it odd how he didn't mind the lost appendage. " _But we're here now."_

" _H-Huh?"_

Satsuki gave her a simple nod. _"Though I bet you'll be more useful in this situation. Emotion manipulation like yours will come in handy. If they're all as volatile as Nagi, then perhaps compartmentalizing their emotions to better manage them will help them along. As for me, well, I'll do what I can."_

" _You mean...you'll help me?"_

He nodded once more, and that was enough for Suzume to break down crying again, this time burying her face against his shoulder. Unflinching, Satsuki only patted her arm to console her but his gaze wandered with his thoughts not far behind. Both lost thinking about words a little girl whispered as if cursing herself with every word and every metal that pierced her skin.

' **I shouldn't be alive. I don't deserve it.'**

* * *

High above the ground and crouching on a fire escape's railing, a hero patiently waited for his prey to arrive. Boot cladded feet swayed back and forth, slowing down only when the metal soles struck the railings too loudly. Languidly, he adjusted his jacket as he leaned back with his hands gripping said railing for security. Though only a few stories up, it would still be a nasty fall were he to lose balance. Good thing that his wait wasn't long.

" _He's heading southeast."_

" _Copy that, heading there now."_

" _Boss, he's coming your way."_

A playful chuckle bubbled out of Satsuki which he quieted rapidly when he overheard the thumping of rushing footsteps approaching the mouth of his alleyway. Nonchalantly, he pressed at his earpiece to connect the lines.

"Don't sweat it, boys. I've got him."

With a wave of his hand, he watched the faint glistening glass dust he kept in compartments around his belt rise in the air. If anybody asked him, recreating mirrors out of their tiny particles was an art in itself. One he prided himself in. Years of Quirk training made it rather easy. What really mattered, was that it made it inconspicuous to the naked eye as to were that dust traveled to. The only tattletell of where they'd materialize was the small glean they gave off after forming. But he doubted that the jewel thief that was currently on the run to avoid the authorities and sidekicks chasing him would give what could be easily confused as sunlight glare a second thought.

"Down we go." Easily, he trapiesed down the stories through the fire escape without making much of a sound and landing safely near the mouth of the alleyway. It was when he turned Satsuki's way that the thief noticed him. Realization flickered through his eyes shortly before he spun around and darted in the opposite direction—only to crash right into the thick pane of glass. The rugged man toppled over with his belongings, all manner of jewels and even some cash falling out of his half-open duffel bag that slipped from over his shoulder.

"Hello, big guy."

The thug scrambled frantically to his bag in one last ditch effort, but before he could get his hands on it, Satsuki shot out his hand again. This time, before he could nab it away, a box of silver-coated glass encased it, leaving the man to uselessly slam his fists against the box.

"Now, now, let's be prudent. You don't want to hurt your hand, now, do you?"

Frantically scrambling under his coat, tremblings hands took hold of a small handgun and took aim. Satsuki's eyes widened a moment before the thief pulled the trigger. All it did, though, was hit a thick piece of glass already in place between them. Satsuki's image cracked before the glass gleamed over and transformed into a mirror, the thief's own cracked image staring back at him instead.

From behind the one way mirror, Satsuki saw more cracks form as the deafening sound of bullets rang through the air. Good thing he replenished his bulletproof glass dust. Knowing he had no other way to escape, Satsuki lazily stretched his arms above his head as he walked out of the alleyway in time to meet with his sidekicks. Nonchalantly, he pointed back where the thief continued to unload the magazine he still had left.

"Let him finish that mag before you apprehend him. And also," Satsuki paused long enough to undo the glass casing the thief's duffel bag. "Get that to the police."

"Sir!" The unanimous agreement brought a thin smile to his lips.

The blaring sirens that approached their location as he walked out of the alley almost drowned out the sound of the TVs displayed on the electronics store next door. But Satsuki had yet to discover anything louder than Hizashi-senpai's famous emcee voice. Fireworks flooded the screens all at once, all of them tuned to the same event, before skimming across a broader scene of a grand stadium.

 _Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?_

" **For those listeners out there tuning in with us now, welcome to the first-year stage were the students began with a bombastic start!"** Distinct scenes took the stadium's place on every screen flashing different moments from what Satsuki assumed were snippets of this so-called start. Flashes of ice, explosions, machines—all fighting through what looked to be an obstacle race. **"Don't change that channel, folks! In less than a minute, these little forces of nature will duke it out in a cavalry battle for supremacy and a spot in the final stage of the Sports Festival!"**

Sports festival. Yuuei's. It all clicked in his head the moment the scenes flashing across the screen changed to a familiar strawberry-haired girl dancing amidst a storm of shrapnel.

 _Uh oh._

Nervous, Satsuki fumbled to get his phone out of his front pocket. His face blanched significantly at the eight missed calls from his sister and the hoard of texts she'd sent. Swallowing the fear of the verbal lashing he was about to take, Satsuki dialed her number and pressed it against his ear while keeping his eyes on the screen and on the small countdown they had on the corner.

Suzume's disgruntled hiss came across before he could let any kind of apology leave him.

" _Satsuki…"_

"S-Sorry," he said, "Time ran away from me while chasing after a thug."

Her tone took a drastic turn, abandoning all traces of sullenness and replacing it with concern. _"Did it go well?"_

"Another thief isn't much to fret about." Unconsciously, he tapped the glass separating him and the TVs showcasing the festival as they posted the list of the 42 students let . "Forget that. Strawberry Shortcake got into the second round?"

" _Are you watching it?"_

"Just caught the intermission on a window display." As he watched the countdown quickly go down to a minute, an idea formulated in his mind as he scratched the back of his neck. "Say, that sit you reserved for me still open?"

" _Treats are keeping it warm for you. Or cold, depending on which you favor."_

Satsuki chuckled at one of her bad jokes but tapped the back of his neck with the three fingers of his left hand pensively. Hosu was a ways away from Yuuei, but if he hurried and caught the earliest bullet train to Tokyo…

"Keep piling the treats, Chun. I'm gonna want that seat just right by the time I get there."

* * *

" **Now, raise those battle cries! It's time for U.A.'s bloody battle! Light the signal fire!"**

It was hard to tell which was more blaringly loud: Mic's announcement or the alarm signaling the end of their fifteen minutes. But it mattered little to Nagi. Despite the time being up, Yohsei and her talked strategy to the last second as he continued hyping up the crowd. Yohsei deftly tied the headband with their added points on his head and nodded her way as Nagi molded one of her bracelets into what amounted to a pair of pedals on her forearm. She crouched with ease with her back to him while crossing said arm behind herself. Yohsei climbed on easily, settling himself on the pedals while asking if she would be able to hold him steady.

"No sweat, Yoh-chan!"

With a small jerk of her fingers, the titanium pedals clutched the soles of his feet to secure them and him to her forearm. Though Nagi's plan had been to strap his feet to herself with the titanium from both her bracelets, he, as the defacto shot caller of Team Kisaragi, vetoed the idea. That she should have titanium were she to need it was a better choice. With just the two of them, he said, they would need to use everything in their arsenal. Nagi obliged begrudgingly. Fortunately, he was sane enough to see some merit in her previous idea of using Pix on her as the horse. Surely with it, chasing others would be a piece of cake.

"Alright, Nagi-san." Yoh-chan hunched over, his hands squarely on her shoulders with a tight grip for good measure. "Are you good with the plan?"

"Got it down to a t!"

" **Counting down to the brutal battle royal!"**

Both knew that they didn't have lots of points. Despite her landing in fourth, there were only two of them in the team and Yohsei's didn't add much to the equation. But now that she took a gander at where all the points ended up, his plan sounded sounder and sounder by the second.

"Remember," he said, squeezing her shoulder as the countdown began, "We've only got one objective in this cavalry battle."

 _Right._

Midnight's lashing whip and booming voice gave them their signal.

" _ **Start!"**_

Nagi kicked off running alongside all the other teams with a ferocious, lopsided grin upturning her lips at the conniving plan Yohsei had concocted.

" _Forget the ten million?!"_ Yohsei had practically smacked her mouth shut with both his hands to shush her. Though she frowned, peeved by his sudden hit, she talked loud enough through his hands for him to hear. _"But isn't that the easiest way to win this?"_

Yohsei glanced to either side before returning to face her. _"We're not trying to win."_ The way her expression contorted in confusion made him roll his eyes before nodding in Midoriya's general direction. _"Everybody's going to go after the ten million, right?"_ Nagi nodded more than enough times. _"So you see how we'll just bring ourselves unnecessary competition if we go after it."_

She paused briefly, mouth half open.

" _How're we going to win then?"_

" _That's just it: winning isn't the goal. Getting to the next round is."_ Despite not quite understanding him, the glint in his silver eyes told her how adamant he was about this plan. And luckily for him, Yohsei only needed to say one last thing to convince her. _"My guess is they need about four or five groups for the next round. So long as we stay in that margin, we don't need the ten million."_

His ingenious idea still ran through her mind as she sped side by side the other teams heading towards Midoriya. All fixated on one single target.

All utterly exposed.

 _Quantity over quality it is._

A team from Class B reached Midoriya first forcing them to run away through the air. No doubt those items they were wearing were par for the course of that Support girl Nagi recalled from the obstacle race. That mattered little though and instead her eyes darted across the field taking in all the teams nearby in search of the perfect target.

One floating headband stuck out like a sore thumb. Her grin widened before she tapped Yohsei's leg with her free hand.

"Three o'clock sharp!"

Instinctively, he looked over his shoulder as she skidded about to chase after Hagakure. "I see it."

Nagi gritted her teeth at the odd sensation that came to her as the Pix from his legs slithered down to hers. His Quirk set off her blood like crazy. It rushed through her veins, feeding her the oxygen, stamina, and strength needed to speed her up. Though it made her feel heavier, Nagi battled against the odd weight and made a straight line for Toru's team.

Yohsei didn't hesitate, stretching out his arm just as Nagi sped up, but before he could touch the headband, another hand stuck itself between his and nabbed it for themselves. Nagi's head snapped to the side as they crossed paths with the one responsible and met with blue gray eyes and a haughty smirk. A blonde headed the team full of what she guessed were Class B students. Their eyes met for a moment, that patronizing look of his boiling her blood as he twirled Toru's headband in his index finger.

"Profiting while others fight. Guess we had the same idea." A chuckle left him as he undid the velcro on the headband and placed it around his neck. "Execution is what matters, of course. Too bad you fell short on that part."

"What did you say, you pompous ass?!"

"N-No, Nagi-san!" Yohsei pulled at her shoulders to divert her as much as he could from hunting the ass that'd mocked them down. "Forget him! We've gotta get the others!"

Though she stopped for a brief moment as she glared back and forth between the ass blonde and the rest of the teams, Nagi begrudgingly left it as it was and chased after the rest when another of Yohsei's pestering nudges veered her away. _I'm getting you later, asshat._ Thankfully, that anger that lit her blood ablaze and urged her to bash his face in served to fuel her chase after the others. Nagi focused on getting her bearings back to pick their next target, something that took long now with everybody scattered after that initial scuffle. But the moment she spotted explosions not far from them with subsequent ones following from overhead, an idea came to mind.

" **He's gotten separated from his horses!"**

"Five o'clock, Yoh-chan!" Nagi nudged Yohsei while accommodating him and setting off on a dash towards Bakugou's team.

"Are you crazy?!" he yelped, his grip tightening.

"It's _your_ plan!" she shouted with a lopsided grin plastered on her face. "But the opening is on me." Her eyes narrowed the instant Sero's tape shot out for Bakugou in midair. _Perfect._ Leaving the carrying of Yohsei to only one of her arms, the other swept out from behind her, hurling her other bracelet at them. The metal morphed midair and in the blink of an eye into a sharp spear piercing right through Sero's tape, cutting it clean.

Crimson eyes widened a touch while the rest of his team freaked at the sudden cut of their rider's lifeline. Grinning from ear to ear, Nagi rushed to where he would surely to land before undoing the titanium from her arm while keeping it on Yohsei's shoes. "Bring that headband, Yoh-chan!" Nagi cupped his soles with her hands and, taking a page from their book, crouched down before vaulting forward and throwing him as far as her pent up momentum would let her towards Bakugou.

" **And he's not the only one!"**

Bright royal blue hair caught the eye of crimson eyes in an instant. What ensued happened in less than a second. Though taken aback, Yohsei composed himself quick enough to reach out for Bakugou's headband as both reached the apex of their throw. Bakugou however aimed his hands without a moment's hesitation to one side to set of simultaneous explosions, completely diverting himself and avoiding Yohsei. Nagi clicked her tongue displeased despite her crooked grin remaining on her features. The moment Sero shot another tape to catch Bakugou was the moment she knew the chance was forfeit. Dashing to where Yohsei would land, she guided his fall just right with her Quirk to have his knees crash against her back and somewhat back into place. And though that threw her off balance—even sending her to all fours for a moment—Nagi quickly regained her footing and took off running again.

"Come back here, you damn Twinkle Toes!"

 _And as far away from him as possible._

The sudden shaking of her shoulders brought her back to Yohsei who was placing his feet back on her arm while jostling her brains back and forth.

" _Never_ do that again!"

"Was worth a try!" Nagi couldn't help the laugh that erupted from her even when Yohsei resorted to hitting her shoulders to get her head back in the game. Stopping for a split second to gather her bearings once more made her frown as a sudden realization hit her at what she saw.

" **What? Wait a minute!"**

Other than the top teams, there weren't any others with headbands. "You gotta be shitting me," she growled through gritted teeth.

The same epiphany seemed to hit Yohsei, his head snapping upward to spare a glance at the scoreboard as he mumbled, "Who still has points?"

Reading off the leaderboard, Nagi recognized none of the names aside from Midoriya and Todoroki's. Half the scoreboard was set on zero. Thankfully, that excluded them, but they were dead last on points. Yohsei touched the headband around his head and audibly gulped down his growing nervousness. Not wanting to discourage him at the halfway point, Nagi turned about and followed as the teams headed once more towards Midoriya's direction.

"We got this. There's still time!"

Halfway across the field said team found themselves face to face against Todoroki's. If it hadn't settled before, the idea of how terrifying his team was certainly did now. Iida's Engines were as good if not equal to Yohsei's speed-up Pix and she knew how advantageous that was. Kaminari, for as much as she poked fun at his tendency to turn into a numbskull after using his Quirk too much, was a force to be reckoned with by himself. All that was packaged neatly with the human swiss knife that was Yaoyorozu and topped with the pretty bow that was Torodoki.

Scrutinizing them so much while approaching the hoard itself gave her the chance to spot the sudden signs. Yaoyorozu creating something from her arm and exposed stomach, Kaminari brightening up like a lightbulb with crackling lightning—they were up to something. It wasn't until Todoroki wrapped the entire group except Kaminari with a shiny blanket and some kind of pole from Yaoyorozu's arm started scraping at the floor that Nagi cursed under her breath at the sudden realization.

Lightning rod. Shock-resistant blanket.

 _Whey-chu's gonna pop._

Acting on that premise, Nagi skidded to a stop and brandished out her hand to send her free bracelet down as a spear. Yohsei's mouth opened and was halfway through asking what the matter was when Nagi yelled over him, "Hold on!"

Yohsei took hold of the titanium rod just seconds before Kaminari released his indiscriminate shockwave. It saved Yohsei the brunt of it but unlike him, Nagi's jaw locked from how hard her teeth grinded together from the shock went through her body. Titanium was a lousy conductor, but that didn't mean the rest of her body wasn't. Luckily though, it certainly saved her much of the stupor that all the other teams got sent into. And it gave her ample time to sense the sudden frostiness in the air.

Stumbling on her feet, Nagi jumped over the ice that ravaged across the floor behind Todoroki, and doing fast enough to avoid it from freezing her in place. Breathing heavily and her muscles burning from the mounting exhaustion, Nagi ignored it all as her gaze flitted between the two avenues open to them now. Todoroki literally froze the majority of the competition in place, giving her and Yohsei free reign to hunt down headbands. But that also left them with the chance to actually chase after the ten million. If it was just Todoroki's team chasing after Midoriya's points then maybe…

"Nagi-san, no," he shouted.

"But the ten million!"

Her grunt came out more pained than she intended it to, no doubt itching to go after it. But when Yohsei's pull towards the frozen teams forced her the other way instead, she groaned and followed his instructions. Though Todoroki took some headbands on his way out, he didn't take them all, and it gave them relatively easy pickings for the ones that were left.

Turquoise eyes shot up to the scoreboard in time to see their team shoot up in the rankings just shy of fifth place. _Still not good enough._ The next best bet was to chase after the team above them—and lucky her, it was Iron Boy. Yohsei agreed readily to the idea, tapping her shoulder and pointing at one of the few free teams still out there.

As they were rushing towards Tetsutetsu's team though, Nagi's gut sounded off alarms at how odd they looked. They weren't moving anymore and their eyes were completely hazed over. Something wasn't right about them. _The headband, Nagi._ Though her brain urged her to go for it now that they were stupefied, regardless of the reason, her gut screamed for her to stop. But she didn't, not until Yohsei physically yanked her to the side to avoid ramming into another team that burst through from the side.

"I'll be taking that." The dull voice that spoke brought her eyes up to a four man squad. It was easy to recognize Ojiro and Aoyama, and though one horse wasn't familiar, the rider was— _bushyhead._ Giving off a smug grin, he scoffed as he tied the headbands he'd nabbed from Iron Boy around his neck with his stare directed at them.

Fuming from so many hotshots taunting her in succession, Nagi didn't bother listening to Yohsei even when he shouted for her to ignore the jabs. She just couldn't. Truce or not, she was done listening to him if it meant she couldn't payback tenfold what humiliation others dished at her.

"Shut up and go for it, Yohsei." Said bluehead groaned out of frustration but leaned forward intent on snatching some headbands all the same.

Purple bush head grinned and despite Yohsei's intent being clear as day, he focused on Nagi as she rushed forward. "Whatever you try is going to be useless."

"You just fucking watch—"

Head splitting.

There was no describing the pain that struck her so suddenly any other way. Her head felt like it was literally about to explode with all the white noise that blared in the space between her ears. Nagi stumbled a few steps from the shock, but just as suddenly and intensely as it came, the pain receded without a trace, leaving only a faint sense of vertigo in its place.

 _This...is..._

Nagi hated the feeling of people picking at her brain. It wasn't that foreign of a sensation either. Suzume used to have a bad tendency of fiddling with her emotions and head before she put a stop to it. And all that probing, and the fact that his face showed a miniscule amount of shock at her snapping out of it, made his—it made _Shinshou's_ Quirk more than evident to her. And putting the pieces in order of what had happened seconds before the sudden, head-splitting migraine gave her just enough to figure out what triggered it.

But many things occurred at the same time in that split second.

Mic's blaring announcement of the ten million changing hands to Todoroki's team and Bakugou's merciless attack against another brought her dizzy head back into the game.

" **Time's just about up! Start the countdown!"**

Seconds left—there simply wasn't any more time to think things through. Without more points, they'd be stuck out of the top. And aside from Shinsou, there weren't any other teams nearby. His headbands were the only ones left in the game for them. The tight squeeze that Yohsei gave her shoulder relied what his gaze squarely set on Shinsou's retreating back already told her.

 _That's our only chance._

"Right." Feet dug into the ground and she grinded her teeth as a crooked smirk came to her face, "We're getting to that last round!"

The countdown's horn piercing through the air set her blood ablaze and ignited the fire pit in her stomach even further than before. Rushing towards him with Pix's enhanced speed brought them head-to-head with Shinsou's team in a split second. Dark indigo eyes narrowed on them over his shoulder and he clicked his tongue as the whole of his team attempted to run away. Meeting his frustration with a wider smirk of her own, Nagi shouted at Yohsei over the noise of the countdown.

"Yoh-chan, whatever you do, don't answer him anything, and don't let him get away!" Though he paused briefly, he shouted out a clear, "Roger!" before undoing his Pix from her legs.

 _We're getting those points._

"Just give up already!"

"Fat chance!" This time, Nagi didn't falter at the sudden pain that ravaged her head. She used the pain to fuel her momentum and determination instead. "...And you better think of getting a new trick!" The vertigo and pain came and left like before, leaving much faster this time around, but neither of those things stopped her from running after them at full speed. Noticing this, Shinshou grinded his teeth and glared daggers back at her, obviously perplexed as to why his Quirk wouldn't work.

 _Got ya._

"'Cause that one ain't gonna work on me twice!"

Shinshou urged his horses to speed up but at seeing that, Yohsei sprung into action, lifting one of his knees and setting it on her shoulder before reaching out as far as he could with his hand. "You're not getting away!" Faster than she'd ever seen it, the Pix from his arms shot out in a bright show of purple lights as they slithered through the air towards Shinsou. Just barely, the ink caught the fluffy end of Ojiro's tail and Pix latched onto him before erecting a shield around them. Crashing against the sphere of solid crystal that now trapped them, Shinsou frantically turned every which way searching for a way to get out.

 _Not this time._

Dashing past them, Yohsei easily bypassed the crystal shield of his own Quirk, breaking it as his Pix returned to its rightful place, and snatched at Shinsou's neck as a flurry of purple crystals flew after his hands.

" **Time's up! That's the end of the second round!"**

The sudden horn that blared through busted Nagi out of her adrenaline rush and sent her stumbling across the ground. Unable to keep balanced on her back anymore, Yohsei rolled over her as she fell and landed on his back with a resounding _thud._ Dust kicked up in the air after their fall, the two finding themselves head to head on the ground while staring up at the sky. Just as her heartbeat was calming down, a fist holding headbands blocked the sun from her vision, obscuring the numbers on them by the shadow they cast.

" **Now, let's take a look at the top four teams right away!"** Though she wanted to rush a count, Nagi let out a defeated sigh instead. Frankly, at that point there wasn't much more to do than hope they're last ditch effort was enough. **"In first place, Team Todoroki!"**

What a surprise.

" **In second place, Team Bakugou!"**

That there was a tiny bit surprising. _Guess Firework got his points back._ Sitting up before Yohsei, Nagi helped him get up before scouting the rest of the field for the other teams. A huge chunk of ice sectioned off a part of the arena but aside from that everything was still pretty much the same.

" **In third place, Testute—Huh? What, it's Team Shinsou?!"**

Not far, Nagi glared at Shinsou as he jumped off from his horses and gave them a good old 'good work' with that arrogant smile of his. Somehow it managed to piss her off much more than Bakugou's usually did.

" **In fourth place, Team Midoriya—!"**

A defeated sigh weighed heavily even after Nagi breathed it out. With an apology at the cusp of her lips, she turned about to Yohsei but stopped dead in her tracks at the wide-eyed, astonished look he wore as he gawked at the scoreboard. Utterly confused, Nagi spun about as Mic continued his announcement only to see the numbers that Yohsei couldn't stop staring at.

" **And tied with them, Team Kisaragi!"**

 _No way._ Though Yohsei burst out from his overflowing excitement, Nagi stared baffled at the numbers and how both hers and Midoriya's matched. Fourth place. Again. _But that's good, right?_ That highly depended on one person. All eyes turned to Midnight as Present Mic called to her attention the slight problem that arose with having a pair of tied teams.

She pondered for a moment, a finely manicured nail tapping her luscious lips as she did so before they curled upwards into a smile. "The rules say that the teams who end between first and fourth would advance." The R-Rated Hero took a quick gander between the two before snapping her flog down. "And I'm sticking to them! Teams Midoriya and Kisaragi will both advance to the next round."

Unable to contain her euphoria, Nagi sprung into the air before hauling Yohsei to her to embrace the life out of him. The boy for once didn't mind the chumminess, elated as he was, and joined her in celebrating.

" **The umpire has spoken! These five teams will advance to the final round!"**

* * *

" _Is she not home?"_

The absence of any child-sized shoes by the doorstep begged him to ask the question as he entered the abode.

Aizawa Shouta straightened after removing his own shoes and stepped onto the slick, wooden floors of the home, joining the elderly woman that waited for him a few steps ahead. Though she wasn't short by any stretch, the old woman visibly shrunk as she shuffled forward all the same, an invisible ache forcing her to slouch forth ever so slightly.

Dark pink hair that she kept up in a bun pinned with a silver hair ornament had dulled in color and was peppered with tresses of gray since he first spoke to her over a couple of years prior, back when the abduction had barely taken place. The soft gray of her eyes clouded over from her growing blindness but it did little to impede her traversing a house she undoubtedly knew every last tile of.

" _She's here,"_ the old woman hurriedly assured him before grimacing, _"She's still unaccustomed with wearing footwear is all."_

" _I see."_ The comment slipped from his lips unconsciously as he adjusted the rectangular box nestled under his arm.

Nodding, the old woman gestured for him to follow her as she crossed her home with careful steps, hand outstretched to gently touch the walls around her to help orient herself. Every so often as she spoke, her head turned over her shoulder giving Aizawa the impression of her glancing his way.

" _We appreciate your consideration towards her, Shouta-kun. That we do after all she's been through."_

Aizawa shook his head, a lethargic hand coming up to scratch at the light shade of stubble across his jaw. _"I have you to thank for allowing me entrance into your home to see her, Chitanko-san."_

" _No need for gratitude,"_ she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. _"She's family, so of course we would look after her. We're well aware that your intentions are all in regards to her wellbeing."_

 _Quite a drastic change._

Aizawa still recalled the catty dispute that Suzume and he had with the head of the family and their daughter the first time they met when scheduling the girl's release to their home. Though the latter was rather vocal about not wanting the child in the house and for them to forget about dropping her there with them, the father—the kid's grandfather—though not as verbal as his daughter, hadn't been any better by any stretch of the imagination. Despite his agreeing to fostering her, it was quite apparent to him that the old man was more concerned with etiquette than hiding the blatant, deep-seated emotion seething in those dark eyes of his. Regardless of that, they had taken Nagi in after she'd been released from her year long stay in the hospital, so he supposed there was something to merit them with.

The old woman stopped at a particular door after a few minutes of walking and Aizawa stopped behind her. Her voice lowered quite a bit before she whispered to him while taking a hold of the rice paper door before them. _"Do be careful, Shouta-kun. She hasn't harmed anybody but even I can sometimes hear her tittering over the edge when trying to control her anger."_

He could only imagine so living in such a household.

" _I'll be fine, thank you."_

With that warning given, the old lady slowly opened the door to the room and took a few steps inside it with Aizawa close behind. _"Nagi, Aizawa Shouta-san has come to visit you. Will you come and welcome him, please?"_

When no response came, she asked again, her petition as polite as before, but only silence answered back.

Aizawa, despite giving the room a quick gander himself, couldn't find her either. Instead, it gave him a chance to inspect the room she'd taken as her own. Though right for her age, the room felt barren and desolate. Her futon and blanket were messily folded and laid on the floor that was surely were she slept every night. Towels, brushes and other things were haphazardly sprawled across the floor taking even more space. Even a few dishes, cleaned out of their food but still dirtied, were stacked at several spots and left to mold. But aside from that there was no sign of the twelve-year-old girl.

It wasn't until he noticed the paper door that seemingly led to the outer garden slightly ajar that he surmised where she'd gone. Aizawa informed the old woman of this before letting himself through the messy room and prying the door open. There, sitting on the edge of the small hallway and hunched over something in her lap, was Nagi. Her hair, now long after the last couple of years growing it, was unkempt and undone, easily obscuring his vision from whatever she was preoccupied with. Her head jerked slightly at the obvious sound he intentionally made when opening the door, but no other acknowledgement came from her.

Not a word. Not a glance.

Walking over and crouching beside her, Aizawa took a seat and set aside the box he'd been carrying while mindfully leaving the space she'd given herself alone. He didn't say anything at first, not because there wasn't anything to say but because he was more concerned with what she'd been so diligently doing since before he got there.

On her lap was a half-dismembered doll. A set of plastic legs and an arm laid beside her as she focused on detaching the remaining arm. Her nails dug into it to tear apart the rubber ligaments that kept the toy together and easily left what looked to be a brand new doll armless and legless. As soon as she dismantled it, she reached over to pick up the pieces lying about and started to carefully put the doll back together.

" _Why break them apart?"_

Aizawa saw her flitting gaze turn from the doll to him briefly before returning to the task at hand.

 _"Practice."_

His dark eyes narrowed at the single-word answer. _"For what?"_

 _"To learn how to better put myself back together again...because..."_ For a moment, her gaze lowered and her hold tightened around the doll's limbs. _"I'm still...waking up disjointed in the mornings."_ Finally refocusing on the pieces at hand, she felt around the arm's joints before aligning them and pushing the limb back forcefully into its socket. _"I remember Grandfather used to give dolls like these to me, too, saying they'd help me learn how to put myself together whenever I broke."_ For the first time in the entire conversation, Nagi lifted her head and locked gazes with Aizawa. All that he saw in those turquoise eyes that he failed to hear in her voice was cold apathy. _"And since he made me into whatever he wanted, he must've known best, right?"_

Aizawa took a moment to take in every word she said and carefully weighed it. The detached manner of speaking still hadn't disappeared. Neither had her habit of being barefoot by what the old lady told him either. Her bare feet brushed across the blades of grass beneath them, the barcode in clear view. Aizawa hadn't doubted a word Suzume told him before he came to visit; these children were beyond damaged. And though her stay in the hospital certainly lessened her harmful behaviour towards others and herself, that was only scratching the surface.

" _These children have been broken down to their cores and reconstructed to fulfill a purpose. It'll be a long and arduous road to recover them from this, there's no doubt in my mind about it,"_ Suzume reminded him, _"But it's not impossible."_

Breathing a long sigh, Aizawa picked up the pieces of the broken toy that laid around before taking the doll's torso away from her grasp. Nagi didn't get angry or yell at him, but like the old woman had said, Aizawa sensed a hint of hostility growing beneath the apathetic expression of hers.

" _You're not what anybody made you to be."_ The expressionless look on her face changed slightly as her brow furrowed. Ignoring it, he set the broken toy aside before placing the box he'd brought with him in the small space between them. _"You're your own person. You can do whatever you want to do, say whatever you want to say, think whatever you want to think."_

Opening the box, Aizawa let her peek inside when, after a slight moment of hesitation, she leaned forward to look. Inside laid a pair of baby blue sneakers. Nagi's face scrunched up in disgust at the sight of them but he patted her knee all the same. Begrudgingly, Nagi turned his way, bringing her bare feet into the space between them. Being a couple sizes too big, they slipped right on her feet with the one on her right foot completely hiding the number and barcode inked on her ankle from view.

" _And you can be whatever it is that you want to be. All those choices are up for you to take, and they won't be anybody else's ever again."_

Her turquoise eyes fixated on the large shoes before her hands slowly came down to touch the soft, baby blue material covering her feet. Silence settled for a moment before tears sprang to her eyes in large droplets that fell onto her shoes and the floorboards beneath them. Her lips quivered and she bit down on them in an attempt to quiet her sobbing as she tightly held her feet closer.

" _...they're warm…"_

* * *

 _Ugh, I'm starving._

Grasping onto her abdomen did nothing to quiet Nagi's stomach from rumbling off it's agreement. And amidst the empty, concrete halls that snaked throughout the stadium, the noise seemed to grow louder to her utter dismay.

Lunch was announced after the cavalry battle, something that she appreciated immensely when all she'd had to eat had been those takoyaki she managed to swipe. But feeding herself became the least of her priorities the instant a crack that even Ochako and Tsuyu overheard caused pain to course through her. Being quick to dismiss it and herself, Nagi promised to catch up in a bit before scurrying off. The best excuse she could come up with was that she'd forgotten something in the lockers, but it was enough to convince them. Half-heartedly, but it did the trick. Not wanting to return all the way to the lockers, she surmised that the tunnels going in and out for the students would be empty enough now that everybody had gone to eat.

The reminder of food finally beating her to the punch, Nagi plopped down tired just as she turned the corner into the tunnels and groaned as her legs cracked beneath her.

 _I need to fully disjoint. Fan-fucking-tastic._

It wasn't like she could complain. This was her fault, after all. It's what she got for not adjusting herself at all in the morning. Now what she needed was her limbs pulled out and properly aligned into their sockets. The worst outcome, in her opinion. _No point prolonging the inevitable._ And the sooner she got this tedious routine over with, the quicker she'd get to eat.

Clutching one of her wrists with the opposite hand, she unsolidified her arm as much as necessary before holding her breath and dislocating her shoulder. A slight groan escaped through her gritted teeth as she let a shaky breath out and released her wrist. Her arm fell limply by her side, no longer attached to anything, but the residual pain tingled under her skin as she felt around her shoulder underneath her shirt. Finding all the necessary points with practiced ease, Nagi held her breath once more before forcefully pushing the malleable limb back in its socket and instantly solidifying the makeshift, titanium ligament back in place. For as quick as it was, it certainly wasn't painless. But seeing as she had so many other joints to undo and readjust, Nagi didn't dwell long on the pain before moving down to her elbow.

Ignoring the pain the way she knew how, Nagi let her mind run automatically as she mindlessly fell into what was her usual morning routine. First the right arm and all it came with: shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers. Then the left: shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers. As she moved upward to her neck, she knew to be careful with the cervical vertebrae around it before bending over backwards and side to side to adjust her torso. It was like a dance almost. One she memorized by heart long ago. It was as she readjusted her last leg by stretching it backwards to touch her head with her toes that she abruptly let go—

And kicked someone's shoulder square on.

Whirling about and holding her hands up in surrender, Nagi was ready to apologize at whomever had been unlucky enough to cross her path. The word was just spilling from her lips when she recognized the victim and the apology died midway out.

A deep voice growled back at her, "Twinkle Toes..."

 _Greeeaaat._

"My bad, Firework." Nagi patted his shoulder disregarding his fuming completely. "Didn't do it on—"

Before she even finished her sentence, Bakugou somehow hauled her up by the scruff of her jacket. Instantly, Nagi kicked at him when she found herself a few inches off the floor but most flailed missing him completely. The strained sneer came over his features, one that froze Nagi like a pup held up by the scruff of its neck.

"Look here, you little shit. That's another one you owe me."

"Owe you? Owe you what?" she hissed, the collar of her jacket starting to bite against her neck.

A manic smirk came to his lips as he snarled at her, "A good explosion or two to the face will do."

"So…" Nagi's leg stopped mid kick as she instantly froze, her brow lifting in surprise at the sudden sound of Midoriya's quiet voice rising. Bakugou, seemingly taken aback by his voice, only sneered but remained attentive while quietly placing Nagi back on the floor. Pushing herself back against the wall, Nagi slid down slightly to lean with her legs angled for support as Midoriya continued, "What did you want to talk about?"

Nagi worried at first that maybe they'd stumbled upon him having a mild breakdown after the cavalry battle. Certainly unlike him, but not out of the realm of possibility either. When he tried again without any response, Nagi's own second-hand embarrassment forced her to take a step forward, intent on ending this awkwardness for good.

"I was overpowered."

"Ugh—" Her choking muffled against a calloused hand as another snatched her back by the scruff of her jacket again.

 _Todoroki?_ Out of all the people that Midoriya would've been talking to, that was the last one on her list. Even more so after the little declaration of war Todoroki had so blatantly put out there. But there they were—Midoriya and Todoroki talking while she and Bakugou so shamelessly eavesdropped. Before guilt could strike and tie her gut in a neat bow, she shook it out of her mind.

 _Fuck, it ain't my fault. I was here before all of them!_

All the same, she listened closely while prying off Bakugou's hand from her face first before the one on her jacket, finally letting her breathe a little easier without the choking. Todoroki sounded out of sorts. If she could call his same monotone voice with a tinge of inflection anything close to 'out of sorts' for him. But for as small as it was, Nagi heard it. Something about Midoriya's attack in the cavalry battle, one that she hadn't seen herself, had him baffled. It certainly sounded like something amazing by how he described it, even going as far as comparing it to All Might's. So drawn into the conversation was she that Nagi slid a half inch down to listen better.

"What...does...that mean...?"

"It means I felt something similar coming from you. Midoriya, are you...All Might's secret love child or something?"

 _What the f—?_

Thank _**goodness**_ Bakugou had such terrifyingly amazing reflexes.

If he hadn't caught her by her jacket a third time, her slipping and plopping onto the ground from where she was would've certainly given them away. Looking up with a smidge of fear running through her veins, Nagi flinched a bit at finding Bakugou's irritated scowl so close, his glare promising her hell and back if she kept up this up. For once, she agreed.

 _I need to be more careful._

Midoriya went on his ramble to disprove Todoroki's claim— _because of course, he isn't!—_ stuttering between words as he tried to explain to him all the while giving Bakugou the perfect chance to drop Nagi to a seat on the pavement without them being the wiser. Though she glared up at him quite miffed about that, it quickly faded at hearing something Midoriya said which caught not only her ear but Todoroki's as well.

 _What does he mean 'that's not how it is'?_

Todoroki's guess would've honestly been hers, but it wasn't like it mattered much to her what connection Midoriya and All Might did or didn't have. Sure, perhaps one could say it made her _mildly_ jealous, but again, it wasn't any of her business. _None of this is._ But Todoroki's sudden change of subject to his father, the No.2 hero, Endeavor, did pique her interest.

Especially when his collected tone suddenly shifted to one rather more enraged as he said, "If you have something from the No.1 hero, then I...have even more reason to beat you."

The way his voice changed gave Nagi a sense of familiarity that made all the muscles underneath her skin itch annoyingly. That tone—a low and quiet mix of apprehension, rage, and resentment—Yori sounded like that sometimes. The times when he'd be normal one moment and then suddenly at the cusp of blowing a gasket. Times like those scared her, to be honest, but they were far and few in between and she knew that it was nothing that she had done. They just...happened. Just like she couldn't keep track of time, his sudden violent mood swings were a side effect.

Even so, it didn't take away from the fear that crawled under her skin as she recalled that now while listening to Todoroki converse about his father and the lengths he'd gone to because of All Might's presence as the number one hero.

"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right?"

Turquoise eyes widened as nasty memories resurfaced from those words. Of times when her grandparents would leave the house and leave her alone with her aunt. Of times when she would desperately search for a place to hide until they came back. Of times when her aunt would go on an endless tirade about her parents while prowling the house in search of her.

Of the few times she found her to berate and harm her.

" _Father can't do this to me! I'm his daughter, not some cattle! If Hiroyuki hadn't left—if that woman and you didn't exist, I wouldn't be stuck in this arrangement! If only you hadn't been born!"_

Her hand reached up to cover her cheek at the sudden phantom pain that struck her. Nagi never understood her ire against her when younger, but after learning that her aunt Yukiko got stuck in a Quirk marriage after her parents eloped some years later, it made all those times when she would strike her in anger make more sense.

From what she overheard and learned from sneaking around the estate, the arrangement with her father had been more about power and influence for both families than anything. Both stood to gain so much, especially for the small yet renowned development company that Chitanko Inc. was back then, but all of that went up in flames with the single marriage license that her parents signed. And when the news came that the development company grew to be renowned across most of Japan but that her aunt would be unable to claim a single share of it after marrying, it only added more fuel to that blazing horror. Something not even the fact that Nagi was never to touch a yen of it either could douse.

Quirk marriages were a problem. No doubt about it. If Nagi agreed with her aunt about anything, it certainly was her views with that kind of backward thinking. No one should ever have power over anybody else's life. And the more that Todoroki talked about his family—about what Endeavor had done to get Rei's Quirk in his hands—the more it sounded eerily similar to what her grandfather attempted and failed with her father and later mildly accomplished with her aunt.

They were all miserably created pawns—means to a frivolous end.

"In my memories, my mother is always crying." Mention of Rei brought Nagi's mind back to the present as Todoroki's voice became strained, his tone lowering in timbre. "'Your left side is unsightly,'' my mother said as she poured boiling water on me."

Nagi's breath hitched.

 _Rei-san_ _did...what?_

The kind, gentle woman she knew. The one who had talked to her and played with her during her stay in the hospital. It couldn't be. Such a person like her could never… But as what he said settled in her mind, the days during that year came to mind as well. Days when she recalled this sad, remorseful tinge in Rei's eyes whenever she came to play. It was brief, but Nagi would always see it. Almost like...she was remembering something awful when looking at her.

 _So...that's why you're there._

"Basically, I picked a fight with you to show him what I can do without using my damn old man's Quirk." _That tone again._ Her skin crawled, fear slowly dousing the embers in her stomach, and she brought her legs closer to her body, huddling them closer against herself. "No. I'll reject him completely by winning first place without using it."

Rejecting.

Bitter as it was, Nagi disagreed with him solely because of how narrow-minded his approach was. If he really wanted what he claimed so badly, the most logical thing would be to use any and every source available to help accomplish his goal. The way he was doing things just wasn't practical. It was why she learned to hack instead of relying solely on others, why she used her proximity to people in powerful positions to further their plans, why she was training to be a hero now when it was the last thing she wanted to do; it was all for a purpose.

To incite change.

 _And if things change for the better, then it doesn't matter what I have to do to make it happen._

"I...I have always been supported by others." Out of nowhere, the scar and tattoo on her ankle itched as she listened to Midoriya's sudden outburst. Even if he was already somewhat outside the tunnels, the conviction in his voice rang powerfully through."I am here because of the people who have supported me."

The embers inside her suddenly died out and all that left her with was an unimaginable coldness. An empty feeling gnawing at her suddenly became all too poignant when it didn't release her. Not until Midoriya's words made her recognize it for what it really was.

"My motivation might seem trivial compared to yours, but I can't lose, either. I have to live up to the hopes of those who supported me."

 _Live up...to their hopes?_

Guilt.

The way her gut twisted into a nasty ribbon any time she talked to Suzume, during class when she facetiously joked around with her classmates, or when she ignored _his_ calls...that's what it was. Burying her face into her knees, she hoped to bury along it the sudden epiphany but all it did was bring forth the faces of people behind her closed eyelids as her chest tightened. The people who've helped her...would they agree with her and Yori? _No, of course they would._ Nagi wasn't wrong for wanting what she wanted. She couldn't be. Yori and her were right, Yori said so themselves. What they wanted to accomplish would be good for everybody. But if that was the case, why did her chest tighten every time she even thought about it and how others would see it. Why did the mere idea of Suzume, Aizawa, or _him_ finding out about everything she had done only to be disappointed...hurt more?

 _Would doing things this way...really make things better?_ As her doubt and guilt mixed, it became so much harder for her to breathe. _Would it lessen what I owe them?_

Perplexed and unable to unscramble the mess that her mind had become, Nagi groaned into her knees before mumbling, "I don't get them." Beside her, Bakugo clicked his tongue disdainfully at her before turning on his heel towards the way he came from before.

"Doesn't matter. No matter what anybody's after, I'll be the one taking first."

His simplistic reply infuriated Nagi to the point of shooting back up on her feet. Her emotions and thoughts in turmoil, she couldn't avoid snarling at him, "I may not get it, but surely a dumbass so doggedly focused on something as superfluous as being the top dog doesn't get it either." Nagi saw the blatant furious vein popping on his temple as he glanced over his shoulder, but it disappeared fairly quickly leaving only a serious scowl in its place.

"At least I know what the hell I want," he turned then, walking away as he finished the statement and twisting a dagger in her gut she hadn't known was there. "Unlike you."

Nagi wanted to scream. She wanted to retort with anything that would prove him wrong. But when nothing formulated in her brain, she stopped short and watched his receding back as he left instead.

 _I don't fucking need this bullshit._

Fed up, Nagi stormed off popping the last joints she needed before heading to the cafeteria. Miffed as she was, her prior hunger intensified as she waited impatiently in line, her foot tapping against the tiled floor as she glared up at the menu. Damn the yakisoba pan. Nagi seriously needed a buffet's worth of food to wash off the bitter taste off her mouth. Piling high two entrees and stacks upon stacks of sweets, Nagi scoured the cafeteria for a place to sit when she spotted two girls, one with familiar black hair in a high ponytail and the other with earphone jacks.

"What's happening—calm down, Jirou, it's me—why are y'all huddled here?"

She frowned at said girl's anxious expression when she jumped at the sound of her voice, grasping at her chest as she gawked at her with wide, frightened eyes. Nagi ignored her for a second as she placed down her tray on the table they were all standing around. Though from afar she only saw Yaoyorozu and Jirou, the rest of her female classmates were there as well. It wasn't odd for them to spend time together, but as she mindlessly chomped down on her food, Nagi couldn't help wondering what had them so jittery, confused, and serious at the same time.

"Chitanko-san, good thing you came," Yaoyorozu started, "it would seem we'll be assisting with the cheerleading in the afternoon event."

Her fork stopped midway up her mouth and she turned up to their vice president with a puzzled expression as the piece of steak she had slipped from the utensil.

"Say what again?"

"Yeah." Jirou huffed, her cheeks tinted as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Apparently we have to which is dumb, in my opinion."

"Ditto." Nagi practically swallowed up her two entrees before taking her first dessert and turning to Yaoyorozu once more, "You didn't know about this?" When she shook her head, she faced the group as a whole as she stuffed a spoonful of strawberry ice cream into her mouth. "Who told you then?"

"Kaminari-chan and Mineta-chan," Tsuyu responded.

 _Fishy._ She definitely wasn't in the mood to do any sort of cheerleading. Even after the girls decided on their own that they would have to, Nagi vehemently refused and focused instead on finishing her other desserts before the lunch hour ended.

"C'mon, Nagi-chan." Toru sat on the booth where she was before siddling closer to her and gently tugging at her arm. "Don't you think it'll be fun?"

"I've had enough 'fun' for today." Finishing another from the plate, she picked up one of the five mitarashi dango she'd gotten and bit off one of the dango from the skewer. Deadpanned as could be, she turned yet again to Yaoyorozu. "Can't I just opt out?"

"If she does, I want out too," Jirou pointed out exasperated.

"I don't think it will be that simple." Yaoyorozu angled her cheek against a couple of her fingers, pensively going over what they proposed before sighing in defeat. "Kaminari-san and Mineta-san said they overheard Aizawa-sensei talking about the event."

 _And if Eraser said so, then..._

Heaving a sigh herself, Nagi pushed away the dish with her one remaining mitarashi dango remaining before plopping her chin down onto the table and grinding her teeth. "Alright, fine."

"Really!" Mina exclaimed seemingly a bit excited about the whole thing.

"Can't really say no." Though she said that aloud, her eyes centered on Jirou who only huffed as her cheeks tinted further.

With Yaoyorozu addressing them to follow her back to the locker rooms, Nagi let another heavy sigh escape her while siddling out of the booth. She stopped abruptly thinking better about leaving the dango and snatched it up before jogging to catch up with Ochako and Tsuyu who were behind the group as a whole. Tusyu turned to her as she munched down on the sweets with her head tilted and mild curiosity showing on her face.

"You seem rather upset, Nagi-chan."

"Really?" Ochako leaned forward to give Nagi a sidelong glance, "She seems fine to me."

"That's 'cause I am." Though she said that with a smile, it was obvious to anybody, herself included, that the gesture was more than forced on her face. Luckily, it wasn't anything that shoving dango into her mouth wouldn't hide. "I get a bit cranky when I don't eat is all."

They decided to trust her words, something she thanked since she seriously wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Yeah, she was pissed but what angered her more was that she couldn't pin exactly why. Was it what she overhead Todoroki and Midoriya talking about? What Midoriya had said? What Bakugou spat at her? Honestly, any of those options sounded viable, but she had more important things to worry about than figuring out what had her in such a foul mood. One thing was for sure though, cheerleading was not going to detract from it.

 _Who knows?_ Her brain said rather optimistically, _It might be fun._

* * *

Today was the day she committed murder.

" **What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?"**

It ticked her off to dangerous extremes how they were being ridiculed because of what those two perverted idiots convinced Yaoyorozu and Jirou of. The moment Yaoyorozu exploded at them for tricking her, Nagi strudded forward intent on skewering them with her titanium when Mina and Toru caught up with her to hold her back from doing anything she'd regret.

"Alright already!" Both stopped in their tracks at Nagi's sudden exclaim.

Her ire seemed to leave along with it and they released her easily. Composed as could be, Nagi smoothed out the wrinkles on the skirt and top that Yaoyorozu had made them. Just as Mina and Toru turned their backs, Nagi pitched one of her bracelets Kaminari and Mineta's way as a baseball-sized titanium ball bounced between the two's heads. The clearly audible _thuds_ on impact brought upturned her lips, upturning it into a mischievous, lopsided smirk before the titanium ball returned for her to weave it back around her wrist.

Tusyu chuckled at the sudden display. "That put you in a better mood, didn't it, Nagi-chan?"

An unconscious bright smile spread across her face as she turned to Tsuyu, her hands waving the eye-catching yellow pom poms a little behind her back.

"Sure did."

With that dealt with, Nagi was about to head back into the locker rooms to change back when Present Mic's voice resounded throughout the stadium as he declared what would follow the recreational games and for the 18 contestants left in the final round.

" **The eighteen from the five teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one!"**

 _One-on-one?_

All giddiness from a moment ago disappeared in the span of a second as her stomach flipped at the announcement and she tasted a bit of bile rising up her throat. _This again._ Nagi wasn't ready for this, not mentally or physically. Maybe she shouldn't have eaten so much during lunch. Her ears perked as Kirishima, Mina, and Sero chatted idly a few feet in front of her about past festivals. So there was always a one-on-one competition, huh? Not watching these events came back to bite her in the ass quite literally then. And why was theirs a tournament when last year they had chanbara matches?!

"I swear this school…" Her grumbling came low which allowed her to hear Midnight's announcement about drawing lots to determine brackets.

At least they could decide whether or not to participate in the recreational games. It'd give her some time to settle her stomach and wrap her head around the fact that she'd have to duke her way through to first place.

"Um...excuse me…?" Ojiro's raised hand stuck out among the crowd and he didn't wait to declare what he wanted to say once Midnight's attention fell on him. "I'm withdrawing."

The sudden statement aroused confusion, even from her, but when he mentioned something about barely remembering anything about the cavalry battle, Nagi's mind connected a few distant spots which made her turn over to the bushyhead not far to the side. That kind of Quirk...though she didn't know any specifics about his in particular, she'd done her fair share of studying up on them. She knew what mind altering Quirks felt like, what they could do, and even what side effects there could be when they were used. And that fact really gnawed at Ojiro by the sound of things.

"Everyone here competed by giving their all! I can't...I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."

 _Pride._

Nagi understood that to some degree. It's the reason why she fought her way through the obstacle race. Why she teamed up with Yohsei despite his obvious disinterest. Why she wasn't about to let Bakugou or anybody take away first place and stop her from getting a step closer to what she wanted. So she silently respected his decision, as well as the Class B guy's, to withdraw from the final round. Midnight readily accept their withdrawal, though Nagi admitted that her reasons for doing so where a bit questionable. With them gone, two more needed to be added, a vacant slot that members from Iron Boy's team readily filled after a bit of convincing from their classmates.

 _That doesn't change the opponents a lot_.

A myriad of thoughts sped through her mind as she weighed each of her possible opponents. Out of seventeen possible, there were only four she was particularly worried about. Todoroki stuck out as the obvious red flag out of the four, because he could easily melt or freeze her titanium leaving her weaponless and useless by proxy. What Bakugou lacked with having only half the threat with his Quirk, he made up with monstrously fast reflexes that rivaled— _ugh, who am I fucking kidding—_ surpassed hers. Midoriya was a problem simply because, despite the reckless and destructive usage of his Quirk, it was clear to her that he had the wits to outsmart her.

 _As for the last one…_

"This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"

Turquoise eyes looked at the screen the moment Midnight called their attention to it with a lash of her flog. Eighteen brackets filled out with names in the blink of an eye. She scanned each name starting from the left and only found hers when she reached the far right and spotted the last two brackets.

There, on the first, was hers in bold, **'Chitanko Nagi,'** and on the last one next to hers—

 _I just really_ _ **don't**_ _want to fight him._

' **Kisaragi Yohsei.'**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Done! This came out shorter than I had planned but it's done! Literally this was like 2/3 of the original outline but when I realized I had a perfect place to end it here, I thought 'what the heck.' Besides next chapter that leaves me with all the juicy inner turmoil that's gonna be the whole of the tournament and most importantly, Nagi vs Yohsei!**

 **Speaking of the next chapter, that might not happen for a while. I'm going back to school this Monday and I'm not ready to be loaded with work again TwT. It's just gonna suck all the time and life out of me but since writing keeps me sane, it'll be my little reprieve. And things are just getting good so of course i'll be writing snippets at a time to get it out soon as I can x3**

 **Right now I'd like to thank the wonderful people who followed and favorited since last time. So a huge thank you to** _Craydilli1, Keira Higurashi9, bearcatmedia, 999, akagami hime chan, OddSenjuOut, Nightingales, SpiritlessSoul, MikiFee, dreamerwithapen, xXFallenSakuraXx52,_ **and** _MoonlightWolf16_ **!**

 **Now to answer reviews :)**

Avientei: ***picks up confetti and throws it again* Thanks a lot! I'm really happy it reached the double digits too. Great milestone. Things were a little messy last time but glad to hear you'll wait for when everything drops into place! Oh if you thought the obstacle race was fun and liked this last chapter, you're gonna** _ **looove**_ **the tournament. Also about the other kids from the facility, there is another one. And you might get to get a glimpse of them next chapter (if not next then probs ch13 but most likely next time). '**

akagami hime chan: **Thank you so much for the review! So happy you're enjoying Nagi's antics as well :D**

 **That's all for today, folks. It'll be awhile before I see you guys again but hopefully it won't be stupidly long x3 I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for the next update!**

 **Hugs and love,**

 **-** Evie


	12. Palladium

**I'm three weeks late but here's an update to celebrate season 4!**

* * *

 **xii.| Palladium**

— _A rare and lustrous silvery-white metal, a predominant amount of its supply are used to convert harmful gases into less noxious substances. Derived from the asteroid Pallas named after Triton's fallen daughter who, during a friendly mock battle with the goddess of wisdom, Athena, was mortally wounded._

* * *

" _Mommy, Daddy! Hurry! 'S gonna start!"_

A hand over her lips muffled little of the chuckle that escaped Kaya at spotting the long, floppy bunny ears of a pink and white polka dot sweater coming in and out of view from behind their sofa. Every bounce overflowed with the enthusiasm that her little four-year-old daughter could barely contain in that tiny body of hers. Her bright turquoise eyes matching hers peered over the edge of the sofa as she stood still for a second before shooting her arms overhead.

" _Hurry!"_

Rushing behind the sofa, Hiroyuki snagged their daughter up turning her into a mess of squeals before plopping the two of them down to a seat. Despite her bubbling laughter, Nagi's attention didn't waver from the TV screen that was not even turned on. When Hiroyuki didn't move an inch, she tapped furiously at his shoulder before eventually begging for him to turn it on. Kaya chuckled at her little theatrics before ending her misery and passing the remote over to her husband.

" _Oh my,"_ Hiroyuki exclaimed dramatically, turning the remote over itself in playful confusion. _"Now, how does this work again?"_

" _Daddy!"_

Hiroyuki laughed at the expense of their daughter's childish anguish before turning the TV on and changing it to a daytime show. They were readying for an interview with a certain hero that was the cause of all her rowdy excitement. At recognizing said hero, her husband chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at Kaya, _"Oh, right. I forgot they interviewed him today."_

Kaya shook her head at his playful forgetfulness. She didn't understand how it'd gone over his head when their daughter had counted down the days almost as diligently as she did for Christmas. Rounding the couch, Kaya took a sit on Nagi's other side, her daughter not an ounce bothered as entranced as she was at the sight of Japan's Number One hero live on her screen.

" _You like All Might a lot, don't you, Nagi?"_

Her strawberry head spun instantly to her, huge turquoise eyes sparkling with admiration and rosy cheeks brightening with a grand smile.

" _Yeah! All Might's the best! Y'know, y'know—last time, on TV, it went 'bam' and All Might went 'SMASH!' and then, then, he caught the bad guys and saved the day!"_

Hiroyuki ruffled her head over the bunny-eared hood. Bubbly giggles erupted from her as she leaned into his hand pressing it down with her own. _"Sounds like the No.1 hero, alright."_

" _I still don't get how you like watching all that stuff."_ Kaya pushed back her daughter's hood to brush her fingers through her long strawberry locks. _"It's too scary for mommy."_

" _But it's not scary!"_ Nagi jumped onto her mother's lap at her claim huddling closer as Kaya wrapped her arms around her daughter to keep her from falling. _"All Might's brave! He's the bravest hero ever!"_ Her brilliant smile widened and her tiny arms shot skyward with glee. _"When I get my Quirk, I'm gonna work super hard to be a brave hero that beats up all the villains and saves people just like All Might!"_

A melancholic wry smile came to Kaya's lips at her daughter's assertion. And that she could see a similar expression on her husband's face only doubled her worries.

Nagi would turn five in two short months...and there had yet to be any sign of her Quirk. It would come their doctor assured them, but it was obvious that its latency was cause for concern.

Holding her daughter closer, Kaya ignored Nagi's small giggles as she watched the TV, engrossed with the hero's interview. The brilliant pillar of hope in their society, that's the kind of person that their little girl looked up to. The kind of person she wanted to be. But without a Quirk, her dreams would be crushed.

Without one, Nagi's world would turn as bleak as hers had been without even a chance to try.

The sobering thought of a small coin came to Kaya's mind and it made her hold Nagi closer. That coin toss— _her_ Quirk—it wasn't one suited for heroes. It was a selfish Quirk. One that wouldn't give Nagi's dreams the wings it needed. But it could, _just_ _maybe,_ give her something else.

At the mere thought of using it though, haunting voices that never left her mind echoed in her head. _Don't use it_ , her siblings chided. _It's unnatural_ , her father claimed. _Twisting the world to your whim will only bring you despair_ , her mother reminded her. Their words twisted the knife always present in her chest and stopped her from tossing the coin.

But Nagi's bright turquoise eyes, so vibrant and full of life, quieted all of their voices. This wasn't a selfish whim. This was for the sake of another, for the sake of the most important person in her life.

It was for her baby girl's future.

Shutting her eyes and leaning against her daughters soft head as she held her tighter, Kaya concentrated on the image of that coin in her mind. Of that ever present double-sided coin.

And tossed it.

 _Please...please let Nagi have a Quirk like her father's. One that will help her be the kind of hero that she wants to be. A hero that saves others._

A hero like All Might.

* * *

 _Midoriya's first, huh?_

Stepping out into the sunny watching area designated to her class, Nagi stared pensively at the board still displaying the names of the contestants that would participate in the tournament. Her need to not look at the end of that knockout list overwhelmed her enough to completely disregard that end and focus on the first match that would play out.

"Nagi-chan, Nagi-chan!"

Head turning to the voice calling her, she smiled at Ochako who waved at her from the front seats that watched over the arena below. Jumping down the steps, Nagi beamed the best excuse for a smile she could before skipping her way down the aisle they were on. Her eyes scanned the row of empty seats and pointed at the one furthest to the left next to Tokoyami.

"This one occupied?"

His avian head shook once before he gestured his hand to it. "Be my guest."

"Thanks!"

Doing as she was told and grateful for the good vantage point, Nagi settled onto her seat before leaning forward to look past Tokoyami at Ochako who sat next to Iida with a seat between her and Tokoyami. It took everything in her—covering her mouth included—to keep from fully bursting into a bout of laughter at Ochako's obviously peeved expression, cheeks blown up and rosier because of it. Nagi leaned her chest against her lap to better see her and grinned mischievously back at her gravitational friend.

"I still love you more, Ochan."

"O-Ochan!?"

Ochako lost all semblance of annoyance at once, taken aback by the strange nickname. Shaking her head, a sweet smile tugged at the edges of her lips as she stretched out her hand that held a cup of juice.

Beaming excitedly, Nagi thanked her for the drink and took the straw into her mouth, teeth biting into it but refraining from taking even a sip when Present Mic began to announce the first match. The screen changed into the photos of the participants, Midoriya's more than a little nervous and mind-boy Shinshou with an expression as neutral as could be. Both made their way to the center of the arena and while they did, she turned her gaze to Tokoyami who sat idly and quite entranced with the current event.

"Who do ya think is gonna win?"

A hand came to rub at his beak pensively as he watched the two take their respective places. "It is difficult to say without proper knowledge of the opponent's capabilities."

"Say, weren't you and Kisaragi butting heads with his team in the cavalry battle?" Mina's perky voice resounded in Nagi's head as she finally took a sip of her juice. _Blegh, too acid._ When she nods back at Mina, the latter doesn't waste one second to ask, "Do you have a clue to what his Quirk is?"

Brought to a halt, her mind buzzed with the reminder of what happened only a few minutes ago and blew bubbles into her drink, brow clearly furrowed at the idea.

She had her suspicions, but it was certainly something hard to explain. Nagi only knew two other people with a Quirk even remotely similar to his and neither left any rather pleasant memory of it in her mind. Yori's was the obvious comparison, but by what she experienced during the cavalry battle, Shinsou's was certainly nowhere as powerful as theirs. It wasn't to say it wasn't strong though. It managed to make her stumble when it caught her off guard after all. But after years of living with Yori's Quirk, Shinsou's wasn't that difficult to fight back. The other, and the one that mostly resembled his in her opinion, was Suzume's.

Despite Nagi's unwillingness to, Yori had convinced her to search for information on all those involved in what happened, villains and heroes alike. As such, she'd read and memorized her fair share of info on most of the heroes involved. That very much so included Chun-chan and her Quirk

Nagi heaved a long sigh at the reminder of it. Calling it Emotion Manipulation was selling it short. Sure, it could project any sort of emotion on whoever she wanted to and magnify it to ridiculously detrimental levels, but that wasn't even scratching the surface of it. She'd seen it, and most importantly, _felt_ it. That thing—her very words, her very _voice_ , were like a siren's call toying with her emotions in a way that would best manipulate her to her commands.

Almost like a silent wave that slowly engulfed her whole as it pleasantly drew her into the ocean's depths without even realizing it.

Tsuyu poked her head from the far side of the aisle, finger pointedly against her chin when she spoke out loud at noticing her taking far too long.

"Nagi-chan, you're spacing out again."

Her eyes blinked owlishly before her head turned abruptly to the others. Just as she was about to ask what she meant by 'again', Tokoyami gestured forward with a nod of his head.

"It's starting."

Mic's voice boomed over the stadium and the crowd roared to life addy the drop of a hat. While they were presented and the rules established though, Nagi preoccupied herself thinking further about Shinsou's Quirk.

 _And if it's as deadly as Chun-chan's…_

" **Now let's get this started! Ready?"**

Her nose scrunched together at noticing Shinsou's mouth moving, likely telling something to Midoriya beneath Mic's blaring voice. And Midoriya's shocked expression turning to sudden consternation clearly said that he didn't like whatever it'd been.

" **START!"**

"What'd you say!?"

All at once he froze in place. The few words Nagi caught Shinsou saying from her spot told her exactly what she figured out on that split second.

 _He's doomed._

Everyone at once grew wary at Midoriya's sudden stop. Nagi narrowed her eyes on the scene before her, covering the lower half of her face with her hands and leaning her elbows against her knees for a closer look as she grew pensive.

Nagi wanted Midoriya to win, something that only became wishful thinking when Shinsou gave him a simple command.

"Now turn around and walk out of bounds."

Midoriya turned and began walking.

"He's damn strong."

"What do you mean Nagi-chan?! What's going on here!?" Ochako bounced on her feet trying to get rid of her worry but only creating more as she skidded to a stop and plopped onto the seat next to her.

Iida rushed to Tokoyami's other side not taking the seat but waving his arms at strange angles in a hurry. Because of his rambling, Tokoyami looked down at her to reiterate what their class president couldn't say straight.

"You understand what's occurring to Midoriya?"

"I think so." Nagi sat back against her seat and crossed her arms across her chest as she followed Midoriya's slow walk out of bounds. "It's his Quirk. I felt it in the cavalry battle too. I think Shinsou took control of Midoriya somehow."

"It's exactly that."

Turquoise eyes met dark brown dead on when Nagi bent her head back and over her shoulder at hearing Oujiro's out of place comment. Said classmate sat miffed, foot tapping ceaselessly and tail tensed and close to his body.

"That guy can control people when they answer his questions."

"What!?"

Iida shook his head turning back to their pink-haired classmate, arms waving wilder than before from the concern. "How did you undo the effects of such Quirk?"

"I have some kind of resistance to Quirks that affect the brain. It doesn't fully cover my back but it does a fine damn good job to keep them at bay. It's why when he did it to me, it shook me off my game but didn't fully take over." Nagi's gaze returned to Midoriya as he was only a few feet from the boundary of the arena. "Unlucky for him, I don't think Midoriya's mind can handle such massive hit like I did."

 _I don't think he'll make it out of this._

Sighing defeatedly, Nagi sat back with her hopes for her friend's triumph crushed.

 _This is gonna end sooner than I—_

Turquoise eyes widened incredulously at what happened next. In a split second, a rush of air progated outward from the arena at the same time Midoriya's finger miraculously managed to flick downward...and he stopped.

Just before stepping out of bounds.

"...he undid it?"

The crowd roared to life with cheers. Ochako, Iida and the rest of her classmates cheered alongside them as Midoriya rushed forward to fight fair against Shinsou. All Nagi could do was stare dumbfounded at what she witnessed. Midoriya—the boy that flusters whenever she's near, that fumbles with his words timidly, the same one that mindlessly mutters uncontrollably—was mentally strong enough to undo the Quirk controlling him.

Beside her, her hand trembled, fingers curling inward and grasping her titanium bracelet as it fell over her palm.

 _He took back control._

"Thanks to my Quirk, I couldn't cross the golden gates! You wouldn't get that, you're naturally blessed." Over the crowd's shouting, Shinsou's voice reached Nagi as he tried his damnedest to get him to respond to him and take control over again. "You people—born with amazing Quirks getting to follow your dreams!"

A blessing? No—

" _Funny…"_ Terror filled her mind as a childish voice spoke above everything else. All at once, the noise muffled, her sight blurred and lost color as a horrid chill ran down her spine. There wasn't a need for her to look behind her and check above the rows of seats to know who she heard.

 _Go away..._

Chiyoko cared little for her plea and a chuckle made her blood run cold.

" _We were blessed too. Grandfather said the same thing, didn't he? That we were 'his golden children'."_

 _Please..._

" _But it's funny, isn't it?"_ she said, a chilling breath suddenly tickling the back of her neck like razor sharp knives. _"How quickly a blessing becomes a curse."_

 _ **Go away!**_

Shooting up from her seat at the same time as the crowd cheered, her senses returned full force just as Midnight's hand shot upward announcing the end of the battle.

"Shinsou is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the second round!"

Breathing shallowly, Nagi spun on her heels but behind found nobody beyond the topmost bleachers. No voice, no ghost of a dead girl mocking her—nothing.

"Nagi-chan, are you okay?"

Finally facing them, she couldn't ignore the eerie sensation of their eyes on her. Even when she saw them face on, it still unnerved her how their stares bore into her like the sharpest of knives. Just like Chiyoko's. That they were looks of concern though calmed her enough to kick her forced smile into drive. Just as she was stepping back and opening her mouth to apologize, her foot slipped and she lost her footing, catching herself on the banister. Looking down, she heaved a sigh at the orange liquid that now smeared the floor on the front row, the cup it'd been in having rolled off a couple of seats and wide open from the fall.

"Oh damn, how clumsy of me. Got a little _too_ excited for Midoriya's win!" It was hard to laugh it off, mostly because even she could tell how forced it sounded. But not wanting to cause any unnecessary unease, she pulled back pointing towards the nearest exit. "I'll go find something to clean that with. Be right back!"

Before anybody could say anything in response, Nagi took off in a small sprint to hide her uneven breathing that grew shallower by the second as a quiet chuckling resounded in the back of her head.

* * *

Sitting at the far end of the room with her bare feet brushing against the tatami floor, Nagi turned a small orange bottle in her hands precariously. Its insides rattled loudly in her quiet room. Her eyes fixed on the white pills shaded blue that were visible through the see-through bottle. A cup of water sat a few feet ahead of her, the once cold water tepid from the hours of idly sitting by while Nagi pondered.

" _Boo!"_

The loud hiss spooking her let the bottle drop out of her grip and roll aimlessly halfway across the room. Nagi grasped at her chest from the near heart attack it gave her. A heart attack that got bigger when the door that led to the gardens outside slid open and an unfamiliar head peeked inside. It only returned to normal when, on that smug expression, she spotted those eyes of molten gold.

The moonlight spilled in and shone on Yori's small body as they flashed her a grin, the body they inhabited that of an agile middle schooler who jumped through the mess that was her room to her. She hated how they always picked bodies that were taller than her. Even if they were girls—few though those were—they were always a few inches taller than her.

And despite that they always acted like they were younger. Even when she knew they weren't that much apart in years.

" _Scared ya?"_

" _You're an asshole,"_ she replied in a low growl.

Yori's smug smirk didn't disappear as he busied himself with taking a gander around her room.

" _Pigsty much?"_

" _I hope you didn't sneak into the estate to talk shit at me."_

" _Nah, but it is fun to hear what you have to say."_

Clicking her tongue peeved, Nagi paid him little mind and reached forward to retrieve her medicine before he could see it. To her utter dismay, a smaller hand beat her to it.

Yori carefully rotated the bottle in his hand, the rattling bouncing against har walls, and took a long, torturous second to read the label on the bottle. Nagi's throat run dry at the sight. Before long, he settled down beside her, scooting closer once on the floor to lay his head on her shoulder before passing the bottle back to her. For once they remained in utter silence except for the rattling of her pills as Nagi continued tossing and turning the bottle.

" _Shishio give you those?"_

The rattling stopped and her grip on the bottle turned her knuckles white.

" _I've been having trouble sleeping again. She says they'll help me with that and make the things I see go away."_

" _What things?"_

" _...the others."_

Nagi undid her grip and easily popped the cap off the bottle. The white and blue pills easily slid down the plastic wall when she tilted it into the palm of her hand to dispense a couple before regretting it and putting them back inside.

" _She gave them to you more than a week ago. And by the label, that prescription is still intact in its dose."_

" _And?"_ she painstakingly groaned, capping and uncapping the bottle, taking out more pills each time before putting them back inside.

" _I'm guessing two reasons why that is. The first is that you're waiting for the right time to just down them all and get it over with."_ Her fingers twitched and she mistook the rattling of her bones for that of the bottle for a solid second. _"But you promised you wouldn't. So even if you_ _ **are**_ _thinking about it, I know you won't break your promises. The other, on the other hand, sounds much more plausible."_

" _Which is?"_

Yori snatched a few of the pills between their fingers and leaned back before taking aim and tossing one into the tepid cup of water.

She didn't make a move to stop them. Instead, she idly watched the water sizzle as the pill slowly dissolved.

" _You don't want to take them."_

Another one hit the rim of the cup, this one with enough force to bounce off into the garden where Yori left the door ajar.

Finally, those golden eyes gazed down at her, eliciting the disgust Nagi knew came from the scrutiny.

" _Why don't you want to take them?"_

It took her a solid minute to compose herself, but once she did Nagi mustered what little courage she still had left in her to answer.

" _I...don't want to forget them."_

Yori's rebuttal ignited it all into a massive flashfire.

" _But isn't seeing them painful too?"_

Her breath hitched and her hand closed into a fist, the pills digging into the palm of her hand when she did. Yori watched her from beneath his eyelashes taking in every minuscule movement she made. Finally, she opened her hand and her eyes fell on the pills left in her hand.

" _Everyone else—they've all forgotten about them. I...don't want to do that to them. I truly don't but..."_ When he felt her chest heave, he lifted his head from her shoulder just in time to see the tears that sprung from her eyes before she could furiously wipe them away with the back of her hands, _"But every time I remember them, all I'm reminded of is how I let them down. How I hurt them. How—how—how I couldn't reach them in time!"_

 _Ah,_ Yori understood the dichotomy now. Guilt was one hell of a punisher. Sitting up straight, Yori carefully brought her head down to their shoulder so that she could freely weep without being seen. Gently, they stroke her head as she did so with one hand. The other pried the bottle out of her grasp to return all of the pills back into the open container.

" _Well, you aren't wrong."_ Yori yearned to crush all those pills and container to dust, but without the strength to do so, their sight came up to the bottle a few inches away instead. _"But you don't have to worry. I can take care of it."_

Nagi finally brought her face from out of their shoulder to glare at them, but not before wiping her face completely clean of tears. _"How?"_

" _I'll make it so that you don't forget them but that you also don't feel that pain when you think of them."_

" _That's not possible,"_ she rebuked.

" _I think you forget what I can do."_ Smiling at her, Yori patted her head. " _Your mind is a beautiful garden, Nagi, but it's infested with weeds. And I can tend to it. I can make it so that they remain without harming you. That's what you want...right?"_

She took a moment to take in what they said before raising her gaze. Puffy red eyes that had just been pouring with heavy tears and dark circles under them were now brimming with hope.

" _You would do that for me?"_

Yori's lips tugged upward to a gentle smile as his hand buried her head into the crook of his neck. Nagi fell into the embrace wrapping her arms around their lean waist and leaning in. Without much trouble and without her realizing it, they leaned forward to close the gap that separated him from the cup of water before pouring the entirety of the bottle's contents inside. The sizzling of the medicine like a melody to their ears, Yori tenderly placed their lips against her forehead.

" _Anything for you."_

* * *

The boisterous shouts of excitement from the crowd whittled down to almost nothing once inside the tunnels that ran through the stadium. Ones that Nagi tiredly settled in after having left the bleachers. Adjusting her gym clothes, she noiselessly plopped down onto the cold, hard cement and stretching her legs out in front of her. But no matter how many times she did, she could feel how they were only flimsily hanging on by makeshift joints.

Every time she adjusted one, a strange sensation that lurked on the surface of her mind loosened them back up until they lost most of their rigidity. Nagi cursed at herself in a weak attempt to focus only to fail majestically.

 _Damn it, Midoriya._

His match had run havoc in her head. She couldn't understand why—or more like she didn't want to admit it.

 _Focus, Nagi, focus._ The laughter was gone. So was _her_ voice. It was only a fluke. _It has to be._

Taking a deep breath and laying her head back against the wall, she let her mind wander and latch onto the first thing that came to mind instead. Unfortunately, that roulette landed on the second topic she least wanted to think about.

Her match against Yohsei.

Heaving the heaviest and longest sigh she didn't know she had in her, Nagi forwent her stretches and instead brought her legs back together towards her to wrap her arms carefully around them. Tighter and tighter she held onto them making herself as small as possibly as her mind raced with thoughts of what to do.

Winning was her goal from the start of the festival. Winning would leave a good impression on proheroes about her and it'd certainly help further their cause. But now, winning meant fighting Yohsei.

 _It means..._

Nagi rubbed the pads of her fingers against the heel of her opposite hand. Softly at first, then becoming harder as if wanting to remove a stain she couldn't see yet felt all the same.

 _Hurting him again._

Uneasiness settled in her stomach, knotting it into a mess of entrails as she laid her head on her knees. It wasn't a foreign sensation, but the more she dwelled on it, the more she realized how different this was from her usual guilt. It didn't tear at her painfully from the inside. This one crawled under her skin from the center of her chest and pounded at the back of her mind like someone trying to knock down a hardened steel door. Each time that imaginary fist fell down, a noise echoed in her head just as hard, ebbing each time like the waves lapping at the shores of a beach—white noise. The noise brought with it a distinct sensation.

One she knew too well to confuse for a migraine or some plain, old uneasiness.

Her lungs expanded as she took in the largest breath she could muster and waited just long enough for the crowd outside to cheer again before shouting at the top of her lungs.

" **What the hell have I told you about sneaking around in my head?!"**

Beneath those tunnels, her rowdy shout echoed but never at any volume that compared to the crowd outside. But that wasn't what had her attention nor what made her hold her breath in anticipation. What finally got her to relax even a little was when that strange sensation akin to languid waves pulling her in retreated. It slowly settled into a monotone background sound that became a quiet hum. Relief washed over her but it didn't last long, interrupted by her vibrating phone. Groaning, she snatched out to mindlessly answer the call.

"Hello?"

" _I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."_

The apology calmed her loud beating heart at the familiar words that a stranger's voice spoke. While her one hand pressed her phone against her ear, the other rested on her lap, crumpling the fabric of her open gym jacket.

"You always say that…"

" _I mean it this time."_ Yori's voice dropped an octave, something that was actually audible considering he was in a boy's body by what she could gather from their voice.

"No, you don't."

If there was one thing that Yori did unapologetically was use their Quirk on others. She was no exception to that rule. Back when she had accepted their help, she hadn't expected it to be such a constant and oppressive presence in the back of her mind. She'd gotten used to it, but if it boiled down to it, she could only describe it as one thing: another annoying voice in her head. And frankly, Nagi had enough obnoxious voices haunting her waking hours at the moment to also have to deal with theirs. And though she had accepted, Nagi had placed her caveat for allowing them to do as they pleased: there would be no taking over her body.

Yori could influence her all they wanted in order to help but taking over her was something she would never forgive them if they did it. Nobody would have control over her but herself.

Not ever again.

" _I do, Nagi."_ That deep voice from before chuckled as if finding something amusing. It pissed her off immensely. _"In fact, I was about to do it sooner when I felt something jolt your flower. I was more than ready to jump in but when I sensed you fighting back against it, I opted not to. I only started skulking around right now because of your immense unease. Is something wrong?"_

 _Yeah, something's really, really wrong with me._

But those words painfully lodged themselves in her throat, tiny daggers clinging to the walls of her throat and keeping them there. Taking a deep gulp to try and swallow it down, Nagi focused better on something that she actually had the courage to say to them without shame.

"A little nervous."

" _Because you're fighting Yohsei?"_

Her hand trembled, phone almost falling from her grasp at the mere reminder. Nagi held steadfast to it though before knocking her head back against the concrete wall.

She paused listlessly, "Am I that easy to read?"

" _Painfully so when it's about them. Though I don't know if you'll have much time to worry about him with the kind of competition you'll be up against."_

Before Nagi could ask what the hell they were referring to, the whole stadium shook all around her for a solid second in one abrupt motion. Hanging up by accident, Nagi sprinted to the nearest exit only to stop in her tracks at finding it partially blocked by the biggest chunk of ice she'd ever seen. Light spilled through the gaps from the outside and along with it, came the brief sight of Todoroki as he approached the Sero popsicle he'd created. Cries of 'don't mind' rose like slow, pitiful clapping from the utter, one-sided defeat Sero went through and whose end result she could only gawk at now. Astounded as she was, it was only when steam began rising from the melting chunk of ice that her refocused mind caught sight of Todoroki's whole demeanor.

She couldn't see those bicolored eyes of his. His hair fell over his face partially obscuring it and kept them from sight. But the way he stood so tense, so apathetic practically screamed at her one single thing.

 _Loneliness._

Todorki reminded her of Yori yet again. And even more surprisingly, Todoroki's lonesome silhouette brought forth thoughts of herself.

A guarded stance that's become almost habitual. A mild tick of his jaw that he might not even notice. The way he lowered his gaze looking but not really _seeing_ what stood before him. Almost like he was looking at something— _someone_ —that wasn't there. Something or someone that elicited emotions that engulfed him whole.

The fact that she recognized something so familiar reminded her of a question she often found herself asking whenever she saw that same lost gaze reflected back.

 _What are you looking at?_

* * *

A folded piece of crumpled paper under his nervous, clammy grasp threatened to tear from the combination of force and moisture. Even in spite of this, Yohsei refused to let go of the small lifeline he held in his hands as he watched yet another match done and over with.

Like ticking seconds, Midnight's announcement of the next match kept fresh in his mind the one match that mattered to him.

 _I have to fight her._ _I have to fight her. I have to fight it._

 _Her_ , Yohsei reminded himself, beating himself over for the slip. _I have to fight_ _ **her.**_

For as badly as he wanted to disassociate, the fact remained that he would indeed find himself face-to-face with the one person he didn't want to face. His heart stilled from the mere thought of what was to come, his hands turning even clammier and his breathing shallower, but the crumpling of the paper calmed him at the reminder of its contents.

 _No, I won't back out. I won't. I have to do this._

The thought of renouncing the match the instant it had been announced had crossed his mind. Even if it shot down one of his three chances to impress the proheroes outside of U.A., nothing was worth returning to that past. To all those times he was pitted against them. To those times he was pitted against _her_ only to never come out on top.

Only to disappoint Grandfather...and return to those frigid, operating tables.

But he hadn't.

Yohsei knew his resolve to be strong even when he wasn't. He wanted this badly enough to stand up to his demons with everything he had.

Badly enough to fight _it_ with the sole intent of defeating it.

"You feeling well, Kisaragi?"

Silver eyes shot up at Kaminari's outburst and realized the bunch of eyes that watched over him. Intimidated by their gazes, Yohsei sank into his seat with his hands resting on his lap and the crumpled, folded piece of paper still in his grasp. Almost immediately one of his hands shot up from his lap and tugged at his floppy ears. A nervous laughter came from him as he answered.

"I suppose I'm a bit anxious about my fight."

"No kidding, you're pale as a sheet," Kirishima pointed out, leaning forward in his seat with his hands on the back of the seat in front of him. His red gaze moved from Yohsei to the stage as another match began. "And I can see why. You're up against Chi. That's enough to get anyone nervous."

Yohsei nodded and from a few feet away Mineta let out a low whistle. "She's one crazy girl for sure. Though that's not always bad in be—"

A resounding _smack_ cracked through the air when Asui's tongue swiftly shot from a few rows across to slap Mineta for his comment. Yohsei gulped down the small bit of dread that lingered in his throat before meeting Asui's dark coal gaze.

"Say, Kisaragi-chan, did you and Nagi-chan know each other before coming to U.A.?"

Color drained from his face, his ears pulling tight against the sides of his head. "W-What makes you say that?"

She pressed a finger against her cheek and tilted her to one side. "You seem friendlier."

"That's right!" Hagakure's gym uniform inched back against her chair to have a better look at him when he couldn't see her. "You two looked friendly as could be since day one!"

"Too friendly~" Ashido pointed out with a mischievous snicker, eyes glinting with hope of a new drama. "Could it be you two are actually more than just friends?"

"No, it's nothing like that." A small chuckle escaped him from the odd questioning and he tugged down on his ear. "Nagi-san and I did know each other before this, but it wasn't what one would call...the best of circumstances."

"Did you know her in middle school? Was she a yankee?" Kaminari asked, half joking and half serious with a grin plastered on his face. "She looks like the type."

"Hardly," Kirishima argued. "Even when she's a little bit dense or too showy, she doesn't look like she means trouble."

From a few seats away, Jirou leaned forward with one ear jack jarringly pointed their way. "She gives off the vibe of those people that walk to the beat of their own drum."

"Certainly a deeply brooding character," Tokoyami added under his breath as he split his attention between the match and ever growing conversation about Yohsei's rival.

Said bluehead listened intently to what they had to say. It was strange hearing others compliment her, especially when none of them really knew her, but mostly because of how disparate it all sounded. Like they all saw bits and pieces of her, something he knew her well versed in doing.

 _She's cunning that way._

It reminded Yohsei of a chameleon, how she adapted so willingly and naturally to her surroundings and the people around her by changing how she looked, how she spoke, how she acted.

All those bits and pieces, so different and unlike one another, held feebly together by their seams, never quite like how the whole had been. Never quite like the whole he had known.

A deep gut feeling upturned his stomach at such nasty thoughts, the bile rising up his throat when he remembered the folded paper in his hands. Leaving them to their chatter and the match, Yohsei focused instead on that paper, repeating its contents over and over in his head as the match ended and another was about to begin.

"But you know?" Yohsei opened scrunched up eyes to meet Kirishima's dark red. "You're plenty strong yourself, Kisaragi. Being teamed up with you for heroics these last couple days really showed me you've not only got a good head on your shoulders but an awesome Quirk to go with it too." Cheeky grin lifting the ends of his lips, Kirishima bumped shoulders with him as he stood from his seat readying to leave to the prep room as Ashido's and Aoyama's match came to an end. "If anybody aside from Bakugou or Todoroki is gonna give Chi a run for her money, it's gonna be you."

The brilliant smile he flashed down to him along with his encouraging words flooded his chest through and through with a warmth he seldom felt.

He certainly remembered hope feeling like this.

"Thank you, Kirishima." _I really needed to hear that._

Kirishima nodded and left for the prep room, leaving a more or less calmer Yohsei behind in the bleachers. Yohsei took a deep breath before leaning forward to touch his forehead to his knees, crumpled paper close to his chest as he repeated Kirishima's words in his head before his own.

 _I will fight her._

If not now, it would certainly happen eventually. Despite how friendly they might seem, Yohsei knew the kind of ticking time bomb their relationship truly was. She might act like nothing happened, like everything was alright for her, but he wasn't blind. Nothing was okay...for either of them. Not when she couldn't control herself, urges, temper or otherwise. Not when he couldn't be touched by her or hear her voice without needing to fend off an anxiety attack.

 _I_ _ **have**_ _to confront her._

It was the only way things would change. The only way time would start ticking again. The only way he would truly see things through to their end...whatever it may be. Everybody had their own monsters they fought off during the dead of night that hid beneath beds or behind closet doors. Some imaginary, some very much real.

His waited for him in his match.

His tenuous grip tightened around the piece of paper again as he recited its contents, sure of what he truly wanted the most.

 _All I want is—_

* * *

It was almost time.

Her match was after this one.

But for as nervous as Nagi was about her own match, she couldn't ignore her attention being split with this next match nor deny the bit of herself that pitied one side in particular.

Ochako was no match for Bakugou.

Anybody with a half functioning brain cell could see that. Her Quirk was suited for many things—Nagi bet her week's paycheck that Ochako could be the next ringleader in recues when she went pro—but combat wasn't one of them. Nagi knew Ochako's type. Quirks like hers weren't suitable for fighting. They were just _not_ made for it. She'd seen one too many of her kind meet their end on the wrong side of an unjust fight, leaving behind nothing more than a lifeless carcass as proof. Her skin became cold, pale and left her blood running gelid at the thought. For once, Nagi thanked the heavens that Yuuei wasn't unhinged despite their extravagance. If things got too out of hand, they would certainly stop it.

They wouldn't let Ochako and Bakugou kill each other. Not like Grandfather had done with them.

Her feet dragged behind her, heavy with the thought of what approached by the minute as she made her way to the prep room. It was on her way while hanging her head that the quiet echo of familiar voices caught her ear. It wasn't until she neared the prep room and saw the half open door with a mop of mossy locks and red high tops peeking out that she connected the dots.

The sight of Midoriya relaxed her squared shoulders and allowed her to release the held breath she'd had since all this started. Strange how the sight of him did that to her. It was something recent. Ever since his fight with Shinsou, actually. She was still greatly puzzled and certainly had a ton of questions as to how he got out of that predicament, but perhaps the fact he did was what brought on such genuine relief.

 _He's got a good head atop those shoulders._

Coming up behind him, Nagi lifted her hands and poked at his sides a tad bit hard. Midoriya scattered away from the door with a yelp, a mix of shock and fright coming from his mildly pitched voice. A pair of eyes, one dark brown and another piercing cobalt, bemusedly looked at her from inside while that dark green gaze eyed feel on her. Midoriya breathed a long sigh with a hand clutching at his chest, surely to keep his beating heart from jumping out.

"...please, stop."

"Hey," she responded nonchalantly. Finally locking eyes with Ochako brought a weary smile to Nagi's lips. "How're you feeling about this, Ochan? So-so?"

Ochako's hands that laid atop the table clenched tighter together.

"I-I think I so?"

Her weary smile turned crooked. A failed attempt at comfort.

"As good as it's gonna get."

"Chitanko-kun, Midoriya-kun." Iida's abrupt change to her brought Nagi to attention from the rather conditioned response to his voice. "As those who have fared against Bakugou-kun before, do you imagine him capable of giving his all against a female opponent…?"

"No, he would."

"Totally." When Iida turned for her first for some explanation to her answer, she rubbed the back of her neck, pinching it before turning back to them. "You were there with me during that team-up exercise. You _had_ to push me out of the way _because_ Firecracker didn't hold back. And that was just an exercise." _Though the fact that I could've protected myself or dodge is still up for grabs._ "Besides you heard him out there. He's aiming to be top dog."

Nagi didn't sugarcoat things. That both Iida and Ochako visibly tensed at her honest words didn't change that.

"Not just him," Midoriya added and brought all attention back to himself. "Everyone's competing with the dream of becoming number one. No one's holding back, least of all Kacchan. But you've helped me so much already, Urakaka-san…I thought I might return the favor."

Nagi watched curious as Midoriya pulled out one of his notebooks from behind him. One of the many she often caught him drawing or writing vigorously on while going on his famous muttering rampages. Offering something that she thanked his brilliant, rambling mind for.

A counter-strategy against Bakugou with Ochako's Quirk at its core.

How quaint. But it was what she was finding to come to expect from her shy, bright eyed classmate. Staple Miidoriya.

 _Certainly helpful too._

"Thanks, Deku-kun but...it's alright."

What?

A resounding smack fell on the table Ochako sat on. Everybody jumped, startled and caught off guard due to Nagi's open hands hitting hard against the tabletop. Narrowed turquoise eyes burned vividly with underlying fury.

"Are you crazy?" Her voice cracked at the end but it didn't dissuade her from battering down on the dumb, kind, _naive_ girl that sat tranquliy with a meek smile. A lamb unaware, or _too_ aware, of the slaughterhouse she was to walk into. "He's giving you a hand. No matter how crazy it may be, his plan could save you lots of trouble and unnecessary injuries. It could even get you the win if you play it right. But if you don't, the least it'll cost you is the round. He'll wreck you."

 _Please, say yes. Please ...I don't want you to get hurt._

"I know." Ochako's smile didn't falter and it infuriated her.

Fury burned brighter than the screen that hung from the corner of the prep room. It's lowered volume only brought a muffled version of the cheers from outside as that match continued. Her nails scraped against the slick table as they clenched closed an instant before they lifted to slam down again. Ochako tensed at the loud impact but refused to have any sense scared into her.

Nagi hissed through gritted teeth, "Then why not?"

It took a long moment for her restrained, shaky, _stro_ ng voice to come out.

"You're amazing, Deku-kun. You do amazing things all the time. During the cavalry battle, I thought the easiest strategy would be to team up with friends. But when I think about it, I was actually just putting my faith in you. That's why when Iida-kun said, 'I challenge you,' it left me feeling a little embarrassed about myself."

 _What is she—_

"You too, Nagi-chan." She stopped dead at her name being spoken with such nervous tone. "You're pretty cool, too. You don't let anything stop you from going for what you want. That look you get, that dogged expression that yells 'I accept your challenge' made me realize that I have no confidence in myself either."

"Ochako…"

She raised slowly from her seat then, arms stiff by her sides and hands clasped tightly as she walked towards the door. "Everyone here is fighting for their futures. Doesn't that make us all rivals? So…"

The moment she turned about, Nagi's world stopped completely in its tracks. In that instant, in those dark chocolate eyes that seemingly stared into infinity, there was nothing but raw resolve accompanied by a grand, shaky smile and crooked thumbs-up.

"I'll see you three in the finals!"

Her receding back seemed broader somehow. Nagi's gut churned, not from the usual guilt but from a new stranger sensation. She couldn't pinpoint what it was at first. It had her at a complete loss even after Midoriya and Iida left her alone to prep for her own match.

Slowly, pensively, Nagi sank into the empty seat Ochako left behind. Being quite literally in her spot now intensified that odd sensation. As the quiet volume of the screen in the prep room heightened with her unease, she looked upward to meet the deadly match that suddenly began. The feeling struck her then. Tenfold, _a hundredfold_. And it came with realization when that first explosive hand rushed down on Ochako's rushing figure.

Small.

Watching Ochako's doleful expression and her retreating back, broader and taller than she'd ever seen it, made Nagi feel strangely small. Insignificant. Cowardly. Like a hapless child wandering hopelessly lost. To her, Ochako appeared so grand. Even when she trembled with fear coursing through her knowing fully well what waited ahead, she took that deliberate step forward. Unfaltering. Unwavering.

With determination so strong that it overflowed from her. So tangible that Nagi couldn't help but feel _ashamed._

Sweaty palms slid right across the slick tabletop curled into tight fists. Her nails bit into the heel of her hands and brushed against her titanium bracelets. The cold metal against her damp hands calmed her thundering heartbeat as it knocked against her eardrums and slowed the erratic speed of her blood as it rushed through her veins.

"...I'm not like this…"

Being like this, so indecisive, so vacillant-this wasn't like her. It'd stopped being her ever since she decided to do _something_ about her guilt. Ever since Yori came back into her life and told her, _reminded_ her that she was powerful enough to do something about it.

 _"You're not that little girl anymore, Nagi."_

 _That's right. I'm not helpless. I'm not weak. I'm not afraid anymore._

" _But you are."_

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end at the sound of Chiyoko's petite voice. Playful yet serious, it traveled and echoed in her head like a siren warning of an incoming catastrophe. Despite being out of sight all those times before, Chiyoko was right in front of her now, sitting on the other side of the table across from her. Calm and composed. It truly belied her childish appearance. Her large doe eyes the color of honey stared back at her. Apathetic. _Soulless_. Small bandaged hands rested on the table stained brown with old blood. Her pose was a cruel mockery of her own strained position. When Nagi couldn't take her silence any longer she almost shouted in her panic but stopped herself short when a sudden, meek smile upturned the edges of Chiyoko's lips.

" _I can see it now. I get what you're_ _ **really**_ _afraid of."_

Nagi's voice strained to escape her lips through gritted teeth.

"...I'm not afraid of anything."

" _Oh, but you are. It's not something you can hope to hide from me. From any of us."_ The small child leaned forward. Nagi swore she heard the chair screech as she did, and as her vision blurred, dark shadows entered her peripheral vision narrowing it until she could only see the small girl crawling forward atop the table. _"The reason you don't want to fight him isn't because you're afraid of hurting him again. You don't want to fight him because you're afraid you won't be able to stop once you do."_

All that blackness suddenly bleached into a sterile white. The prep room was suddenly gone, replaced instead with the bleakness of that room.

 _Her_ room.

Nagi's heart faltered. Chiyoko's smile widened into a crooked, maniacal smirk as she slithered her way closer.

" _Sedation was how he stopped you after every session. All because you can't control your urges. You want to protect others and you want to shelter yourself—but you can't do both when you're against one of us. Against us, you_ _ **can't**_ _control yourself."_

Ice cold hands grasped her face. Sharp nails dug into her skin, lines burning into her cheeks as Chiyoko brought her face closer to hers. Suddenly, warmth dropped and slid down her face. Blood— crimson, thick, _warm_ bloodrolled down Chiyoko's cherubic face from a gushing wound on the left side of her head.

A wound split open, slit with a knife or a blade—

 _Or a spear._

Chiyoko touched her bleeding forehead against Nagi's, thick blood dripping down to paint her red.

" _But what can you expect from a monster like yourself?"_

The sudden earthquake— _no, explosions—_ brusquely refocused the world around her. Suddenly too hyperaware of everything, Nagi flew back on instinct with a single jump, collapsing against the farthest wall from the table. Her chair toppled to the floor noisily as her heart beat furiously, thrumming in her head. A piercing noise persisted in her ears that hurt them. Her blurry vision returned to normal as some color returned to it. Despite this, she still scanned the room frantically.

Chiyoko was gone. All those shadows were gone too. Wiping at her own face and gazing at her clean hands assured her that there was no blood there. There never had been. Her eyes flickered every which way until the screen caught her attention once more as it replayed what happened.

An explosion so grand and monstrous had engulfed the entirety of the arena. It'd shaken the stadium whole and her along with it, bringing her back to the present.

And it ended the match with Bakugou as the victor.

Reality hit her almost as violently as if he'd aimed that deadly hit at her.

 _It's my turn._

A pair of ghastly hands gripped her with a whisper of strength so faint that it was almost not tangible. Almost. One latched onto the back of her neck, the other gripped her face. Each grappled for her undivided attention like starving hounds fighting each other for the last piece of meat.

Wanting to be as far away from their memory as possible, Nagi rushed out of the prep room, leaving the door wide open in her wake. It wasn't until she neared the exit of the tunnel that led into the arena that she stopped at hearing the beeping of the nursing robots. Slowly, Nagi came to a stop as the robots approached with their attached stretcher weighed down by the unconscious person lying on it.

Turquoise eyes widened with shock and she held her mouth in dread and disgust at the sight of Ochako's beaten body.

The robots chanted their need to go to Recovery Girl's office and idly passed by Nagi. No one was there to see how the mere sight of her friend so broken made her sick to her stomach.

 _I can't. I can't do this._

Nagi didn't want to hurt Yohsei...because she didn't trust herself to stop if her own crippling fear and need to win— _to survive against them—_ overcame her like she knew it would.

The grip around her neck tightened as did the nails digging into her cheeks.

 _I don't want to hurt Yohsei like that._

" _You're your own person."_ Aizawa's voice suddenly rushing through her mind dulled the pain on her neck and face. It was momentary but still long enough to recall those hard hitting words he'd spoken to her so long ago. _"You can do whatever you want to do, say whatever you want to say, think whatever you want to think. And be whatever it is that you want to be. All those choices are up to you to take and they won't be anybody else's ever again."_

The thought of his monotone voice, his blase demeanor, his serene semblance made it all fade to the back of her mind and wash over her protectively. It warmed her in a different kind of way. Warmed her like the sunlight that poured through after cold nights. Just as warm, just as caring.

Taking a deep breath, Nagi crouched down and wrapped her arms around her legs, forehead resting against her knees as her hands brushed against scuffed, soft blue sneakers.

Shoes that fit her snuggly. A little too much so. Yet she refused to throw them out. They were important to her much like a lot of things in her life were.

Much like only a handful of people in her life were.

 _I choose what I do._

" **And now for our last knockout match of the day!"**

Shakily, her feet trudged forward as her weak resolve took shape with each repetition of those words in her head. The darkness of the narrow tunnels crowded her. Even at the end of the long path, the immense voices of the crowd ringing in her ears dulled. Walls invisible to all of them surrounded her, encroaching her closer and closer to help settle her scattered brain and keep everything else out.

 _And I know what I don't want to do._

Feet dragging and arms wrapping around her stomach as her guts bent and twisted in ways she never knew they could, Nagi stopped after taking the few dreadful steps into the arena. Each one heavier than the last. Each breath even more so making it harder to breathe. The blood coursing through her felt thick as cement.

But her heart felt so tender and exposed. A fawn standing still in a wide open field prime for the hunt.

And her hunter stood resolutely across from her, ears falling to either side of his head and silver eyes squarely on her.

" **From Class A, he's the youngest recommended student of his generation and in Yuuei's history. A young, triple-threat hitter—it's Kisaragi Yohsei!"**

Not even Mic's voice blaring through the speakers broke her away from staring at the floor. Nagi didn't want to see him, the crowd, or anybody. She justed wanted this over with. Her hands curled inward into tight fists with her nails biting painfully into her hands. Waiting, anxiously _waiting_ with bated breath for it to start.

For all of this to just end.

" **Versus, the flamboyant girl that shot right through her competition with style! Also from Class A and the titanium queen—Chitanko Nagi!"**

Nagi inhaled deeply, letting out a shaky breath through her nose that did nothing to calm her.

 _It's my choice._

" **START!"**

Her eyes shot wide open and raised to meet his, but stopped short at the sight before her. Yohsei—his eyes were focused on her, pupils dilated and flickering to take every inch of her in. His ears twitched mildy. A miniscule movement surely made to heighten his hearing. His arms were rigid by his sides, knees bent and ready to dash. Highly aware and wary—

 _Of me._

 _It's my choice,_ she feebly repeated.

But the more she did, the least convincing it felt. The tighter those hands wrapped around her neck and gripped at her cheeks. The bleaker every color around her became. _But it's the truth._ It had to be true. She had to believe it...because the alternative of confronting him was unthinkable. Undoable.

Listless voices rose from the crowd. Their thoughts were crystal clear. Why were neither of them moving when the fight just started? Their voices rose higher and higher, her unease climbing with each passing second.

Wanting to solidify her own decision, Nagi took a single step forward and diligently watched how Yohsei tensed and reacted, his ears darting back to fully expose themselves to the open and his eyes narrowing on her. All of this while his hands trembled by his sides.

All of it. Every single thing about Yohsei screamed a single thing to her.

 _He's scared of me._

Very few things ever hurt Nagi the way this did. But even if she couldn't dull or ignore the pain, her wavering resolve would at least make her bitter decision somehow bearable. A wry smile tugged at her lips as the heaviness settled deeper. Her arms wrapped even tighter around herself desperately wanting to comfort or dull her suddenly aching chest.

 _I won't do it..._

"It's okay." Her hoarse voice shocked Yohsei, eyes widening at the apathetically calm remark. "I don't want to fight you either, Yoh-chan." This time his whole demeanor changed to utter confusion, his stance losing much of its steadiness as his shoulders slumped back. "And they can't force me to. It's my choice."

 _And I choose to do right by you._

A sudden pain struck her then. She didn't know what it was. Much less where it came from. It hadn't been her bones, Nagi knew that kind of physical pain. This wasn't it. This indistinguishable hurt—it frankly wasn't difficult to miss. Giving it the tiniest thought gave it shape.

It was a small piece. The smallest, most insignificant of pieces that had remained, that survived intact and that was willing and _hopeful_ through all the hurt and suffering and regret—

" _I'm gonna work super hard to be a brave hero that beats up all the villains and saves people just like All Might!"_

—began to die.

Defeated, Nagi's shoulders slumped down and her smile faded as fast as it'd come. She turned on her feet then and without prompting from anybody began making her way out of bounds.

 _This is for the best._

Step.

 _It's the right choice._

Step.

 _I owe him this much._

What happened next did so too quickly for her to do anything about at first. Before she could even take another step towards the edge of the arena, all the air in her lungs got punched out of her and got launched backwards. Out of instinct, Nagi's fingers jutted out while taking control of her bracelets and formed sharp titanium daggers that pierced through the ground halting her completely. And as she stared at the ground dumbfounded, something came starkly to the forefront of her mind.

Whatever hit her had launched her far back into the center of the ring. Away from the boundaries.

Turquoise eyes lifted and widened, utterly floored at what caught her eye. Vibrant amaranthine light surrounded Yohsei's broad shoulders in sharp tendrils. The tattoos from his arms and legs shone through the fabric of his clothes and though shapeless at first quickly took the form of something remarkable.

Gorgeous butterfly wings.

Beating, incandescent, _alive._

Silver eyes shone in the light his Quirk emanated turning a soft lilac. Small tendrils of a slightly darker hue crawled from underneath his shirt upward along his neck marking his face in an array of exquisite shapes along the sides of his face and eyes and uniting at the center of his forehead as a small diamond.

" **No!** You will _not_ forfeit here! **"**

His exclamation rattled her bones. Though many things came to mind as a reply, none could rise any further than the lump lodged in her throat from the awe-inspiring image of him allowed.

Yohsei took his fierce stance again, those colorful glass-stained wings spreading broadly behind him. Silver eyes narrowed distinctly and hers widened in response.

"You will fight me right here, right now."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This took so long to finish! It's been hectic as hell irl and it's only been letting me write bits and pieces during these last few months. But I finally got another chapter done! (TwT) And tho it's a long one, it isn't quite the fight yet. That will certainly happen next chapter for sure! I wanted to get into the nitty gritty stuff first before getting into the awesome brawl that'll be Nagi vs Yohsei! For now, you guys get my sweet children's breaking shit down.**

 **I'd like to thank you all for all your patience. It's been a hard semester but I'm pulling out just fine on the tail end. I'll be ending sometime in mid December which means more time to write! Cheers to that! xD**

 **Now let me thank the lovelies that joined us since last chapter in that long list of favorites and followers! Thank you to:** _Ping09262_ _ **,**_ _JorrvaskrnMusicWolf_ _ **,**_ _Yuudie_ _ **,**_ _allychix11_ _ **,**_ _moontracer, afternoonxteax, sherbalin, , Fangirl031415, Scarlett D. Uchicha, AlissonAdd, Raven's Paradise, ILikePengiuns, DarkHero762, Rasne, firebirdnamedsam, coolkitten589,_ **and** _greengirl245!_ **You guys are amazing for sticking around with my sporadic writing habits.**

 **Here's a huge thank you and lots of hugs for the lovely people that left reviews last chapter!**

 _Aviantei_ **: I've been so busy that I haven't had time to talk and I miss ya. And yeah, last time I had some trouble writing that opening scene. This time I also had a hard time writing another one and this time I decided to take it out completely. It'll probs come back next chapter tho. It's awesome that you liked Satsuki, 'cause he's definitely a character that's gonna pop back in with a major parts in a couple of arcs! The festival has been tough to write but it's coming along. Still no fight tho, not until the next chapter! :D**

 _ShardAura_ **: Wish granted Hope you liked it :)**

 **I'll leave you guys with that for this time! I'll be working hard to finish a couple other stories before coming back here, but rest assured that that fight is coming! Like always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update!**

 **Happy Halloween to you all, spooks!**

 **\- Evie**


	13. Gold

**Gold**

— _A precious metal and the most malleable of all, it is a slight reddish-yellow color. Mostly unaffected by most acids and bases, it has been used historically in medicinal applications. Derived from the Latin 'aurum' meaning 'golden' or 'shining dawn'._

* * *

 _What prospective pool of golden hero eggs._

It astounded Satsuki the lengths to which these children were going through to be recognized by strangers in the crowd. By faceless and nameless people that would be but a stepping stone on their own path to glory and fame. Year after year of spectating let him explore a tiny facet that he had yet to experience about the expectations and virtues of the younger generations that came after his. They never ceased to amaze him.

This year was no different. Yet somehow it was.

"Urakaka is unable to continue. Bakugou advances to the second round!"

The brooding silence that took over the crowd was deafening to his ringing ears after that thunderous explosion. So much excitement definitely made it difficult to stay seated, something he found himself sourly agreeing with when he excused himself to take some fresh air outside their viewing box.

"Hey, Satsu." Satsuki lifted his gaze to meet his sister as she walked up to him. Both siblings now leaned against the glass-plated wall that looked out towards the arena, lingering on Cementos' far off figure as he renewed it. "You seem a little restless."

Satsuki scoffed taken somewhat off guard by the sudden statement. "I'd describe it more as excitement." Dark emerald eyes veered away from jade as the screen changed to show the next and last combatants of the knockout stage. His gaze softened at the names and pictures displayed. "And unease."

Suzume's jade gaze turned towards the screen and fell rather quickly, a melancholic expression coming to her as she rubbed her arm with one hand.

"You know, I was against either of them competing."

His eyes narrowed back at her, baffled. "What?"

"Speaking as their doctor, I know how unstable they are still. Something like this that resembles their past traumas so closely could very well regress all the progress I've made with them." Satsuki watched her, his attention rapt on every miniscule movement that she made and catching each one. Including how her gaze lingered on one particular strawberry-headed girl. "Or even regress to a point where I won't be able to reach them anymore."

"Let me guess, Aizawa-san convinced you otherwise." His sister's pursed lips and the way her gaze fell from the screen to the arena told him more than enough. Heaving a sigh, Satsuki crossed his arms over his chest, his own eyes staring out onto the now rebuilt platform. One ready for the next round. "You know, for once I agree with him."

"You do?"

It would be difficult to dismiss her disbelief. It wasn't unexpected though. More often than not, he found himself at standstills with his sister. They just had too different kinds of mindsets not to disagree on every little thing. That he could count the times they actually agreed on something in one hand said enough. This was definitely not one of those times.

"As their doctor, you may well have their health in mind. However, I also think that that and your unnecessary attachment leaves you at a great disadvantage."

Suzume huffed obviously peeved by her brother's comment. "Like you're one to talk."

 _Touché_. Though at least he was to a much lesser degree than her.

"Chun, what do you see when you look at them?"

"What do I see?' She gawked back at the screen that rapidly changed from scene to scene, showcasing the achievements either contestant had incurred since the festival started as they started making their way onto the arena. Her expression fell once more at the sight of them in the flesh. "I see...children that are trying to move past a tragedy." Satsuki chortled at her answer and she snapped back with cheeks flushed red and jade eyes glaring back at him. "What?!"

"It's simply funny that we project stuff so easily."

Satsuki refused to look away for one second as both Yohsei and Nagi stepped into their places while Yamada began introducing them to the crowd. Even though he couldn't make out their faces from how high up they were in the stands, Satsuki could very much imagine what kind of expressions they wore. The emotions that coursed through them. The resolve in each as they stood before the other, surely a scene too gruesomely familiar.

"You're not wrong, though. I, too, see them as kids who had their lives truncated and who're just trying to thrive beyond what happened to them. And because we care about them, we want them to have the strength to move past it and finally stop being survivors and live."

Satsuki leaned against the windowpane as he spoke. The glass that touched his forehead was cold against his skin yet it sent heat through his nerves as his Quirk lowly hummed through them. If he wasn't careful, he knew it could very well shatter. But he knew to control it. He learned how to after painstaking training and sacrifice.

And bravery.

"But it's exactly because of those two things—because we care and want to help them overcome it—that we've become too protective." One of his knuckles touched the glass, a small dent easily forming as he tapped a couple of times on the thick surface. "In our attempts to aid them, we've donned kiddy gloves that we shouldn't be wearing around them and stifled their growth. I've come to realize that if we truly wish to help them move past what happened, we have to back off and let them grow themselves. They have to learn for themselves the difference between surviving and living. Otherwise all we're doing is more harm than good."

Without noticing, they were killing such beautiful buds by overwatering them.

And it pained him to see the results of such erroneous care displayed in Nagi's decision to walk out of the arena.

His grip on his own arm tightened as disappointment sunk his heart. Out of the children, Satsuki had always thought Nagi the weakest. Despite the blase attitude she put up before and the childish facade she took now, she always appeared the most lost of the bunch. Chained down in both body and mind. Her unwillingness to fight only proved it.

Luckily Yohsei gave him some semblance of hope. If he was willing to fight and overcome his fears, then not all was lost yet.

* * *

"Yoh—!"

There wasn't any time for Nagi to cry out with Yohsei's unwavering onslaught. Powerful kicks and punches rained down on her like Ochako's meteor shower had on Bakugou, but faster. And so much more deadly. She knew the strength those punches packed. With his Quirk so fully unleashed, there was no doubt in her mind that a bone or two would break if a single hit landed. Her whole body shook with every hit she blocked, titanium sheets rising to answer the call of her rising arms. But weak as her mind was and as powerful as he was, they only withstood the hit long enough to take the brunt of it before shattering into pieces like fragile glass. Nagi hoisted the broken pieces of her bracelets that were still under her control in a desperate attempt to keep up and block.

 _Just block his hits and get to the boundary._

If she could cross that line, it'd be over.

Finding her chance again, Nagi went into a full sprint right after Yohsei shattered yet another of her feeble shields. It was easy to crouch beneath him with how fast he came at her, and she snuck through ready to leap out of bounds when a hit finally landed on her.

A rib broke. Surely, it must have. Either that or her skull took more of a hit than she thought it had when she struck the ground after he punched her back in. Her vision blurry, Nagi sat up with a pained groan, her side hurting like hell as her eyes focused on Yohsei. The vibrant amethyst of his Quirk dissipated to quiet embers around his tattoos as he approached her. With each methodical step, her mind raced with ways to run. To get as far away from his as humanly possible as one single thought raced through her mind.

 _I don't want to fight you. I don't want to fight you._ _ **I don't want to fight you!**_

"...so why?" Yohsei paused, eyes narrowing the moment the words left her lips. Unable to contain her bafflement and desperation, she shouted what her mind had refused to say for so long. "Why are you fighting me!?"

The crowd grew silent. Had they heard? Did they understand her words? Probably not, she thought sordidly. How could they? This was nothing but a silly tournament to them. Mindless entertainment they could consume on a whim. But to her and Yohsei, this was nothing but a cruel joke. A joke that she wanted no part in. Her throat burning from sobs that yearned to escape, Nagi swallowed them back and used them to power through her rampant thoughts so that he would understand.

So that he would just _stop._

Rising to her feet while holding the stabbing pain that shot through her left side, Nagi glared back at Yohsei not caring that the facade she wore all this time broke so easily at doing so. Not caring that the words her mind was concocting would pierce much deeper than any of his hits had.

"You've always been a pathetic little kid that's been scared of his own shadow. Even with how strong you are, you've always been terrified of your Quirk because you know what it can do! But you and I know that anything you do doesn't compare to the things I can do. You know that…" Nagi hissed those last sentences for his twitching, attentive ears only, her voice trembling with the faint memory of what those words conveyed.

A memory of a colorless space. Broken limbs. Warm blood pooling on pristine floors. And of his cries begging her to _please, stop it._ Her sudden inhale broke as a small sob tore away from her throat. Turquoise eyes burned when she lifted her gaze but the tears that threatened to fall vanished the moment she saw his own.

Small tears welled at the corner of his eyes. But those weren't what caught her off guard and wrenched a gasp out of her. Silver eyes shone with determination and bravery that reflected itself in every ounce of his stance.

He _was_ scared. Yet there he stood in her way, urging her to stand her ground.

"I want to be a hero," he said lowly. Not tearing his gaze away from her, Yohsei unzipped his gym jacket before rolling back the sleeves. "I want to be able to stand against things no matter how terrifying they are." His ears laid taut against his head as he reinforced his stance now that he could freely do so. "I'm done being scared of what happened, of what I am, what you did to me." Nagi trembled at the weight of his words. The tattoos on his skin responded to his words stifling with vibrants colors that lined the art as it moved against his skin. The butterfly wings came back to life and he settled his gaze solely on her. "I'm done being afraid of you."

 _Afraid of me?_

Had she really been so blind?

The more she thought about it and the more things fell so neatly into place made her realize _no, she hadn't._ Yohsei's sheepish demeanor. His habit of tugging at his ears when she came near. The way he shrunk when she touched him. No, she'd seen it. All of it. And somehow she decided—unconsciously or not—to pay it no mind. Nagi had known deep down the reason for all those things. It'd just been something she didn't want to accept so readily.

That she was the cause of so much fear simply by existing.

" _It's what you do."_ Chiyoko's voice screamed at her despite not being any louder than a whisper. As everything around her lost color, her voice grew louder as did the horrid screams that resonated in her ears. _"It's what you are."_

Pain bloomed in her stomach again, bile rising and spilling over this time as the punch she didn't see coming sent her off of her feet. Nagi tumbled and rolled to a stop rather weakly, coughing up the rest of the vomit that rose from the hit. Eyes watering and seeing literal stars, she glared up at Yohsei who stood with his stance upheld, one arm brandished while the other stayed by his side for protection and his feet shoulder length apart.

Through the mess of her bangs and watery eyes, however, she caught sight of his face once more. His lips moved; he said something. The booing and cries to stop the fight that she hadn't noticed before grew louder. They were nothing but white noise though. Nagi heard none of them above Yohsei's quiet voice that said those few words to her.

"And what I want more than anything is—"

And they rang in her head, shutting up even Chiyoko's screams.

With tearful eyes, Nagi cast her gaze downward to her hands splayed against the concrete. Small, round splotches suddenly fell on her skin and stained the concrete—cool to the touch. Her hands shot to her nose thinking it to be blood but recoiled when she noticed that they were actually her own tears as they spilled over.

Tears of remorse but most of all...relief.

Nagi cracked a lopsided smile and burst out into laughter with tears still running down her face. She held her painful side at the bout that hurt it but minded it less the more her laughter bubbled out of her chest. Yohsei remained in place, ready for what came. The crowd at hearing her died down as well unable to understand where the sudden fit came from. Honestly, neither did she, though she could gander a guess.

Yohsei's words—quiet whispers to the world—were loud as could be for her.

It was a warning and a promise. One she wanted to see through to the end.

 _I want it too, Yohsei… More than anything you could imagine._

And he was willing to fight for it. Willing to use that Quirk of his that he once hated so much to do it.

Her lopsided smile fully extended into a more sincere one. Nagi could no longer see the faint silhouette of the little kid that had once clung to her. That kid from the Petri didn't exist anymore. In their place was a much braver, much more heroic young boy. One willing to do anything and everything to get closer to his dream. It was only by seeing him as he was now that Nagi understood just how much her fear had shackled her down.

" _You will be a great hero, sweetheart."_ For once her mother's voice rang in her head clearer than it had ever done so in the past. It was different this time too. They weren't _those_ words anymore, but something different. Something new. _"A brave and kind hero like All Might. If you never give up no matter what happens, you will reach your dream someday. I'm sure of it."_

She wanted to be brave. She wanted to be kind. She didn't want to give up.

 _He's the hero I want to be like._

A much kinder and sincere smile spread across her face as she strained to fully stand back up. "Y'know," Nagi groaned painfully under the rush of air that escaped her as she stood. "It'd be...a real shame if I let you win this easily. If you're being serious against me, then I should probably be serious too, huh?"

Yohsei's ears twitched expectantly before going taut against his head and a feral grin that reminded her of her own tugged at one corner of his lips. "I wouldn't expect any less of you."

With a subtle nod, Nagi turned to face Midnight from where she stood. The R-Rated hero lifted her head at the sudden look Nagi gave her.

"Say, sensei, mind restarting the fight?" Though Midnight narrowed her eyes, Nagi didn't give her time to refuse, stepping forward into the arena and away from the boundary line. "I think I'm feeling better about this now."

Midnight, noting the difference in atmosphere, obliged and raised her hand before bringing it out with a resounding word.

" **START!"**

* * *

"What...just happened?"

Midoriya couldn't frankly answer Uraraka's question even if he tried.

He only overheard the same little bits that they had and even that didn't give him enough of an inkling about what had just transpired in the first five minutes of this fight. But now that Midnight had, oddly enough, restarted the fight, things seemed much more serious.

Chitanko was no longer running away. With the two titanium spears that she molded from her bracelets, she sprung forward charging at Kisaragi the same way he had before and continued to do now. The real fight began this time around and Midoriya watched intently with his notebook and pencil at hand. The crowd roared to life, baffled at first about the same thing as they were but excited that they were getting an actual fight out of this round, he supposed.

"Hey, hey, Midoriya." Hearing Mineta's weary tone from behind him, Midoriya glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge him. "How's this fight gonna end? You got a clue?"

 _A clue?_

"Oh, that's easy." Kaminari commented quickly, "Osoku-chan's got the upperhand with her range. Those spears of hers won't let Kisaragi anywhere near her!"

Mossy eyes lowered to the small section he had written about Chitanko in his notebook. For all intents and purposes, Kaminari wasn't wrong. From what little information she'd provided and from what he personally observed, this fight would have well been on her favor.

"Chitanko-san certainly has an advantage where her Quirk is concerned. I can say that much with certainty from her being able to attack with both long and short range attacks. Not to mention that she can also defend herself well."

"Why does there sound like there should be a huge 'but' somewhere in there?" Kirishima butted in himself, leaning forward as he divided his attention between the fight down there and Midoriya.

This time instead of resorting to his notes, he used what was right in front of him to explain. "She's keeping her distance."

"But wouldn't that be what she'd want to do against someone so up-front like Kisaragi-chan?" Asui asked with a pointed finger against her cheek as her head tilted puzzled.

"She's the one running away, you idiots!" Everyone jumped at Bakugou's sudden outburst. When he wouldn't explain further even when bothered by Kaminari and Sero, Midoriya spoke up to do so.

"Kacchan's right." His gaze went askance once more to his notebook where he skimmed through the five pages he had on Kisaragi. "Chitanko-san's not keeping him at a distance by using her titanium spears. She's moving around herself to keep a sizable breadth of space between them."

"Wouldn't it be easier to do it with her spears though?" Uraraka asked.

Midoriya shook his head. "Kisaragi-kun is fast. From what I've seen, maybe even as fast as Iida-kun. I'm sure if he tried to, he would be able to pass through the two spears if she decided to keep him away with them and reach her without a problem." He pointed down at the crude drawing he'd done of Kisaragi, the tattoos of his Quirk drawn over his arms, legs, and over his chest and directly let his finger fall on his legs. "But he can only travel a short distance in a straight line. To better avoid him, she has to keep moving and make it harder for him to map out that straight trajectory."

But as he watched the fight unravel, a thought rose to his mind and furrowed his brow noticeably.

"What is it, Deku-kun?"

"It's...strange."

"What is?" Iida asked.

It seemed that Tokoyami could see what he did though and replied in his stead. "She isn't retaliating."

No, she wasn't. From what he could see, Chitanko was putting way more emphasis on keeping her distance from him than attacking. Kisaragi on the other hand was putting his all into shortening the distance between them and throwing empowered punches at her. Punches which she deftly deflected with her spears instead of taking the opening he left wide open with each strike to retaliate.

She's cautious. A little too much so. Definitely more than usual for her.

"...she's trying to avoid something…"

His muttering poured from him the instant that thought came to him. She was running still but with purpose now, focusing harder on avoiding _something_ than attacking. It made him wonder just what exactly meritted her attention more than counterattacking.

* * *

 _Close!_

Her breath hitched almost instantly. It was tough anticipating his punches from the rush of air seconds before Yohsei's punch flew by, being only a hair's breadth away from touching her. Tough but doable. Nagi lost no time in making more space between them after that close call. All that jumping around tired her out, not to mention that her rib was hurting like a bitch. But from what she could see, all this was tiring him out as well. The light emanating from his Pix flickering said as much. He was powerful, yes, but even he had his limits.

And he was starting to reach them.

Nagi knew the logical answer. If she could wait it out and let him tire himself out, there was a chance of her winning. But the embers turning colder in the pit of her stomach told her the same thing was happening to her. The beating she took before was taking its toll. Waiting things out—it'd be a coin toss that could cost her the match.

Turquoise eyes scanned her surroundings for an idea— _any_ idea—as her mind ran a mile a second. _C'mon,_ she thought bitterly, _think. What can I do? What would_ — _what would Midoriya do?_ Her gaze focused on Yohsei for a brief moment before looking behind him to the stadium's wall. Solid concrete—

Held by metal beams.

 _Bingo._

Yohsei tensed visibly the moment Nagi recalled her spears. The metal melded from the liquid into her bracelets that she playfully tossed around in her fingers. "I see how you got through by recommendations, Yohsei. Really, you're a powerhouse of your own caliber. Could seriously give Todoroki and Firecracker a run for their money." Stepping forward, Nagi deftly twirled on her toes for the right amount of momentum. Yohsei braced himself instantly the moment she swept out her arm sending one of her bracelets out that changed into a sharp spear as it traveled through the air.

But it missed him. It didn't even come close to nicking his hair. Confused but not daring to give her his back, his silver eyes narrowed on her further, his fists tightening as he held his stance. A smile spread across her face when the spear struck hard enough to pierce through the concrete wall behind him. Piercing deep enough to strike the metal support beam.

All at once, her insides were set ablaze. Almost like there'd been nothing but unlit fireworks inside of her and someone had suddenly dropped a lit match down her throat. Sensing so much titanium at once, even when it wasn't pure, lit the fires in her stomach. They were all connected. An endless maze of metal that was hers to control.

"I hope you were serious about not holding back. 'Cause I won't be!"

In one fell swoop, Nagi mustered all the strength she could and wrenched her arms inward. Shocked shrieks and shouts tore through the air when the stadium began to shake. From its foundation to the top, each metal connection led to the next and trembled in response. Each a mix of alloys. Titanium being one of the many. Sizable cracks spread across the walls surrounding the arena seconds before metal shot out towards her. Sensing them, Yohsei dodged out of the way as the metal, suddenly malleable as it escaped its concrete confines, swirled around Nagi as if it were nothing but silver water.

Nagi, standing in the eye of the shining cyclone, took a deep breath before spreading out her arms to either side of her. The titanium responded to her and jutted out into hundreds of spears that spread out to cage them inside the arena, hovering above them like guillotine blades ready to fall at her command.

She took a moment to breathe then.

Everything... _hurt_.

The weight was almost unbearable. Her bones felt like they were ready to crack under the weight. Air escaped her lungs under the pressure that same weight put on her. A part of her even swore that if she moved even an inch, she'd definitely break into a thousand little pieces. But she held her ground. With some difficulty, she toed off her shoes leaving her feet bare except for her black socks. Bare feet would've been better, she thought, but she'd work with what she had in hand.

With one deep breath through gritted teeth, Nagi disregarded the heaviness of her legs and converged to the nearest spear. Her toe barely touched the end of it when she stepped off to converge to the next one leaving it to spin. One after another, she trudged through the pain and weight and converged from one to the next faster and faster each time. Each spun with the brief landing of her feet, her own momentum keeping them in motion and in turn theirs keeping her moving through the pressure of their weight.

Her motion and speed against Yohsei's strength and shield. It would come down to that.

 _45\. 46. 47._

Her brain kept count unconsciously—an old habit hard to break that gave her a clear idea of what she had to work with: 56 spears. They'd have to be enough. Converging from the last one to the one that hovered the highest above the rest, Nagi spun skyward giving her back to the arena as she reached the peak of her jump—and caught her breath.

Turquoise eyes became wide at the wondrous sight before her. The sky...it'd never looked so blue before. Or so boundless. It reminded her of Yohsei—that deep cerulean. At first it was just the one color but without warning a surge of them assault her vision. The bleakness gone, Nagi couldn't help but smile. Reaching out her hands skyward let the last piece of her plan fall into place, her titanium bracelets held taut against her forearms as thick pikes.

With one last breath, she let herself touch the ground at last, each and every spear in motion falling suit from the sky with only one target in sight. Nagi ran through the onslaught of her own falling ammunition, weaving through each spear as it came close to touching the ground before guiding it towards Yohsei with a punch or kick as she charged towards him. Yohsei reacted like she hoped, concentrating all his strength on only his defensive Pix and raising his shield. What she hadn't quite expected was the way he managed to concentrate the shield so that it would appear at specific locations around him with much more resistance than the whole.

 _That's new_.

Undeterred by it, Nagi maneuvered around it, aiming at his blindspots and places he left wide open. Yohsei matched her every move, switching his shield to either take multiple hits or concentrate his defense. Nagi dashed in between his blocking her spears and shot one of her bracelets right through his shield shattering it. Silver eyes widened with shock before narrowing. Before she could land a hit, Yohsei sped away with the Pix on his legs but not far enough to get her spears off his back. They followed behind him like the homing missiles they were under her control. Rushing forward with careless abandon, Nagi kept low with her two bracelets by her side and charged once more at him, dodging the faint hit he swung at her to nick him on one leg before being driven back. Despite her constant failures, she pushed on, a grin spreading further and further across her face each time she drove him back.

Pride surged through her with each step Yohsei inadvertently took towards the boundaries of the arena. This kind of euphoria—the type that had her breathless and heart beating wildly like nothing ever did—she knew exactly where it came from. If that nagging voice in her head had anything right, it was that she relished a good fight. For as much as she hated to admit it, pushing herself to her limits sent her into a frenzy that she couldn't help but take joy in. Unlike the fear that kept her alive before in the Petri, fighting like this—for pride, for prestige, for recognition—had her on a high that few things ever gave her.

 _What a hypocrite I am._

Maybe, but then again...maybe not. This time she wasn't fighting Yohsei because someone had ordered them to. They weren't fighting with the hopes to please somebody so that they could live to see another day. Unlike before where fear urged them to outdo each other, fighting like this—for recognition, for their betterment, for their own dreams—felt relieving.

Because it was their choice.

Their choice to make heroes out of the monsters they created.

A surge of energy coursed through her at the mere thought of that, the back of a bicolored-eyed classmate and his lonesome back coming to mind along with the question she had asked both of herself and him when she'd seen it.

 _I think I finally know what I'm looking at._

Feeling the distinct tension of her muscles cramping up from overuse, Nagi knew that she only had a few seconds before she completely lost control of her spears. Desperate times, she guessed. She took the last burning embers that laid in her stomach and weaved her spears to all strike down on Yohsei at once. Without a single one to focus on, he surrounded himself with the crystal sphere instead. More than a handful struck at once, some piercing through but not completely breaking the shield. Stepping forward with her own spears at the ready despite the sudden heaviness of her body, Nagi struck.

Yohsei, noticing her sudden sluggish movements, took advantage and swept out his arms. His shield grew in size enveloping the small space they were in while keeping her spears out before rushing towards her, bright amethyst light lining his arms from the light emanating from his chest.

What happened next happened too fast for anybody to see.

The first and only thing Nagi registered was Yohsei's hand as it struck her with his open palm right on her collarbone before all the air was robbed from her lungs. Then everything came to a screeching halt. Titanium spears rained down on them carelessly. Yohsei's shield thankfully protected them from the onslaught as they fell from terrifying heights as the two simply fell to their knees while holding weakly onto one another.

Midnight and Cementoss watch dumbfounded after the abrupt ending, the former coming closer to the duo to ascertain the winner after the rain of spears stopped and Yohsei's shield vanished. Her sky blue eyes seeing the result, she struck her flog upward into the air to give her announcement.

"Chitanko is unable to continue. Kisaragi moves on to the next round!"

Nagi was surprised she could still hear the crowd when it exploded into cheers. For as heavy and lethargic as she felt, she still noticed how gently Yohsei laid her down on the ground. His silver eyes skittered every which way searching her—for wounds, maybe?—but with how sleepy she suddenly felt, she couldn't have cared less. But as her mind began to drift, her breathing and heart slowing with it, a mellow smile tugged at the corners of her lips at remembering what he'd said.

The words that convinced her to finally try.

" _And what I want more than anything is—"_

"...me too…"

When Yohsei's silver gaze fell on her, eyes wide with concern, all she could do was smile fondly.

"I want to be your friend too..."

Just as those words slurred from her lips, she saw black.

* * *

Not far from their fight, light humming echoed quietly through the tunnel that led into the arena of the second years' stadium. A rather tall blonde leaned against its wall with her phone in hand openly watching the broadcast of her little kouhai.

A mischievous grin crept on her face when Present Mic announced what she knew from having seen the fight in its entirety.

" **Kisaragi Yohsei is our final addition to the roster for the second round!"**

"Not bad, Kisa-kun," she said, her smile widening a tad bit before she let out a rowdy laugh. "Not bad."

Overhearing the announcer of her own year starting to announce the start of the final round of their tournament, the blonde groaned while pocketing her phone and walking out into the light. The instant the crowd came to life with cheers, she took on a different demeanor, the graceful and sweet one they all knew her for. The one she loved being the most.

"Coming onto the stage we have the exploding black star and the pride of my class. From Class 2B, Jukoku Ikari!"

She waved and blew kisses out into the crowd loving how they revelled in her presence all the while her opponent was introduced. As the countdown for the finale began, Ikari finally faced her opponent and sized them up with her shiny green eyes and unsettling crescent-shaped pupils. Three long strands of blonde hair that escaped from the bun atop her head danced about her as she stepped up onto the platform intent on dominating it, each ending in sharp edges from the way she stylized them.

"Hope there's no hard feelings," she told her opponent. They were classmates, someone that she knew but didn't really talk to too much. All the same, she wanted this to be as amiable as possible so they could save face. Though she couldn't say the same about how their ego'd turn out after this.

The countdown began.

A thin-lined smile spread across her face as, from the roots of her hair, those dark golden tresses of hers tinted black as a starless night, the edges sharpening and coming to life as they curled inward. Her porcelain skin became dark as could be along with it, becoming the very shadows that the neon lights above them cast. The only thing that remained with any color at all were her eyes that were now a neon green with much larger and darker pupils. As she grew in size, easily towering over her opponent, a grin split her dark face.

"Smile~! Everyone's watching!"

" **START!"**

* * *

 **|Two and a half years ago|**

' **Kisaragi Family** '.

A deep shaky breath tore through her as she read the faded black lettering on the mailbox for the fifteenth time in the last minute. Nagi knew she hadn't gotten the address wrong, even before she turned the corner into the street after rounding the block for the third time. Searching for a simple address online with what little skills she had proved a tad bit hard—she had barely started honing her sleuthing through the web—but she'd managed to find them all. Even Yohsei.

A good portion of the past year was one Nagi spent recuperating both physically and mentally while cooped up in the hospital. It wasn't bad. Claustrophobic, maybe, but it hadn't been all bad.

Now that she had moved in with her grandparents, a whole other battle began with her trying to acclimate to a whole different lifestyle than the one she'd held for the first ten years of her life. Shishio Suzume's sessions certainly helped ease back into some kind of normalcy. Or whatever semblance of that remained in her life anyway. And it was exactly because of the hero's request that she now stood before the grand house despite her trembling legs underneath her and the lump stuck so distastefully in her throat.

None of that distracted her as much as the handwritten letter she crumpled in a nervously tight grip.

" _Letters?"_

Shishio Suzume nodded solemnly, that same unchanging smile on her face.

" _You wish to speak to them, that much is plain as day. But I can also see that you might not be comfortable with the idea of doing so face-to-face. With that in mind, don't you think this would be a better way?_ "

It wasn't that bad of an idea not try it. So she gave it a shot. There weren't many left—just seven names after all was said and done. Well, eight if Nagi counted the one that just recently came back into her life. But Yori aside, there were only seven others that she could write to. Some had already been sent weeks ago. None of them had replied so far.

Though it certainly hurt, it wasn't much of a surprise. Ikari certainly wasn't, for one. The older blonde had never liked her. Not before, not during, and especially not afterwards. Nagi wasn't expecting a letter to change that. What shocked her, though, was that there hadn't been a word from Yohsei. Out of everybody, she thought they'd be the one to reply.

One paranoid thought after the other brought her to the Kisaragi's front step in the end. And yet, despite arriving with another letter in hand ready to drop into their mailbox, Nagi shook in her sky blue sneakers. Dread coursed through her at the thought of finding out just why Yohsei hadn't been replying to her letters.

Taking a deep breath, the exhale came out shaky as she took the envelope and clutched it tightly against her chest. _Just do it, Nagi._ Turquoise eyes zeroed in on the mailbox slot for a second before pushing the letter inside.

" _What are you doing here?"_

The deep baritone voice behind her wrenched a yelp out of Nagi and she jumped back into the gates that boxed the house away from the rest of the neighborhood from the scare. Silver eyes similar to ones she remembered stared back at her, but Nagi could tell with one glance that this wasn't Yohsei. No, this person was older than her by quite a few years and their hair was a much duller color than the cerulean blue she remembered. And though he had some animalistic features, he didn't have those floppy ears Yohsei did.

" _I-I-I'm sorry,"_ her mumbled apology rushed past her lips as her fingers reached up to touch the loose titanium bracelets around her wrists for comfort. _"I-I was—I came to deliver—my name's Chitanko Nagi and I'm—"_

" _I know who you are."_ Turquoise eyes grew wide at the confession. The man's silver eyes turned cold as they narrowed and practically glared daggers at her. With a tilt of his head, he sneered her way. _"And you shouldn't be here. I don't want you anywhere near this house or us."_

The sudden declaration stabbed at her chest, the dread from before creeping into her brain. Her nails dug into her wrist when she missed her bracelet. _"But...Yohsei—"_

" _Doesn't want to see you. So get lost."_

The shock from those words made it easy for him to shove past her to open the gates. Unable to understand it, Nagi stuck her hand in before he could close the gates without a second thought. Furious and losing his patience fast, he pushed at her in an attempt to get her out. Nagi, however, refused to move.

" _That can't be true!? Yohsei wouldn't!"_

" _Get—out, you—psychopath!"_ Grunts emphasized every time he pushed the gate back against her until he finally forced her out and closed the gates. Her hands grasped at the metal that made up the gates' bars and cursed under her breath when her hands didn't tingle in response. A satisfied huff escaped him as he reached into the mailbox from the other side and took the only thing in it—her letter. _"Get it through your head, girl. I won't ever let a monster like you near Yohsei again."_ With a taut hold on either side of the envelope, he tore it in half twice, leaving her thought out and heartfelt words in pieces to crumple up in his hands. _"So stay the hell away from us or next time I won't hesitate on calling the cops."_

Baffled out of her mind, Nagi watched with wide eyes as he entered the house, torn letter still in hand. She gripped the metal bars so hard she swore she'd bent them, but cursed under her breath when nothing happened. Emotions rapidly coursed through her—rage, bitterness, confusion—but nothing trounched the sadness that bore into her as she repeatedly slammed her head against the metal gates.

 _Thud, thud, thud_ —then, out of the blue, the warmth softness of a hand came into contact with her forehead.

Nagi whirled about at the warmth that cornered her against the gate ready to fight if that's what it took to get away. Her firing nerves relaxed though, the instant she met the beautiful and calming molten gold that looked down at her, blatant concern in them.

Another new one; the third one that week. With no prompting, Yori reached out his hand towards her face. Nagi tensed up at the sight but forced herself to relax when they only brushed their thumb against the reddened spot on her forehead. She winced at the touch despite their gentleness. Wanting to gauge the damage, she reached to her own forehead carefully and winced at the sore spot. No blood but no doubt it'd leave a bruise.

" _Don't do that anymore, please. I hate seeing you get hurt."_

A wry, tight-lipped smile came to their lips and his gaze dropped slightly. Nagi knew that expression. She grinded her teeth at the bitter reminder of the cynical words they had told her weeks ago when they found out about the letters she'd been sending.

" _It'd be great if they answered, Nagi, but I wouldn't count on it. I know you're not an idiot and it doesn't take one to know why they wouldn't. So when they inevitably don't...I promise I won't say I told you so."_

The stinging in her eyes came and went as she quickly wiped at her face, the bitter sadness carving a hole in her chest and leaving her hollower the longer she stood around and stared into that pitiful gaze.

" _Forget it, I'm leaving,"_ she mumbled. Pushing past Yori, she beelined it towards the train station as the tepid rays of sunset began to disappear beyond the horizon. _"The old geezer gets upset if I get back after dark."_

* * *

Yohsei held his letter tautly in hand as he watched Recovery Girl's diligent healing of the now unconscious Nagi.

Five minutes. That's how long Nagi had gone under the effects after he struck her with his Quirk; the one that belonged to him from the start. And now because of the Wither Pix that nestled over the center of his chest, Yohsei did something he didn't think he would resort to doing. He had intentionally used it to syphon out her vitality and rendered her too weak to continue the match. But he'd gone overboard. Too many years without using it had dullen his gauging of it. Without any proper control using that particular Quirk, he was lucky that he stopped when he did. Well, technically she was the lucky one but he digressed.

Recovery Girl ran through a packed list of symptoms when he arrived alongside the nurse robots that had carried Nagi's unconscious body to her temporary office for the festival. Decelerated heartbeat, uneven and shallow respirations, pallid skin, pupils just responsive enough. It made him sick with guilt to think that had he lasted even a moment longer, he would've robbed her of enough life force to put her into a coma. Any of his wounds, even the gash she managed to cut through his leg, paled in comparison to that one hit of his.

"She'll be okay, Yohsei-kun."

Silver eyes turned to the gentle voice that quietly rose through the discordant mess his mind was and met Suzume's somewhat calm face. Despite it, he could tell by the light panting she tried to hide and the bead or two of sweat that rolled down the side of her face that she herself was trying hard to appear as calm as she sounded. Thankfully, after many sessions with her, hearing her settled down much of the unease he felt and it lightened the deadly grip on his letter. With a meek smile coming to his face, Yohsei nodded but heaved a long sigh all the same.

"I don't know what came over me," he quietly admitted, half turning to face Recovery Girl just when she pulled the curtain to give Nagi some privacy while she tended to her other injuries. He grimaced at the sight of it. "I thought I could win using only Pix's Empowerment and Swiftness."

"You found yourself in a highly unlikely circumstance." Yohsei knew that tone. The tone of a doctor that had supervised his mental health like she had all the others at one point or another. "And being frank, taking into consideration where you stand now, it is truly a miracle that you didn't completely regress."

Yohsei liked that she kept the promise she made to him when he decided to take her up on her sessions: be truthful with him. No matter what it'd do to him. He was done with others hiding things from him because they thought it'd be best for him. Especially the look they give him when saying such things to his face. Those people pitied him. They still saw him as the child he'd been back then.

Part of him still was, he wouldn't lie. But a much larger part had grown and was trying to surpass what happened. And he wanted that part to be acknowledged too.

Glancing down at his own hands, Yohsei tentatively closed them into fists and opened them back up slowly. "But I should've been able to not double down like I did. Using it when I've refused to after all these years… I could've killed her if I'd lasted a second longer touching her with Pix's Wither."

"But you didn't. You stopped." Her hand came up to rub his arm, a kind gesture that got his taut ears to finally relax. "And you confronted her."

 _Not quite._

Crumpling the letter a bit more, Yohsei took a deep breath before handing it over to Suzume. The hero took it, quite surprised at the sudden action.

"Would you give this to her when she wakes up? I'd give it to her but…I need a little bit of time before I can face her again."

Thankfully, Suzume didn't question him. She merely nodded, placing the letter on the little bedside table next to Nagi's bed. "I'll make sure she reads it."

He nodded turning to leave but before he did, glanced back over his shoulder and left Suzume one last message to pass on.

* * *

Everything. Fucking. _Hurt_.

Nagi couldn't even take one stupid breath without _something_ hurting. With how slowly her eyes opened, Nagi squaked when the neon white light above her blinded her. It took a moment for them to adjust. Another for her mind to follow.

 _What happened?_

A festival came to mind first. That's right, Yuuei's Sports Festival. She'd been participating in it. Kicking ass if she remembered correctly. And then the one-on-one matches came. She recalled feeling nauseous and sick. She recalled her unwillingness to fight. Then she recalled her fight and the faint sound of Midnight announcing the winner before she blacked out.

"...Yoh…"

"He's alright. And as for you..."

Turning her head slightly towards the voice told her two things. Firstly, she was in the infirmary. Or the little space that was Recovery's temporary space here anyway. It explained why she was laying on a soft bed and fluffy pillow while covered comfortably in a warm blanket with an IV drip connected to her arm. The other tiny thing she instantly noticed was what that tone gave away. That overly sweet and coy tone—Chun-chan only used it when Nagi majorly fucked up. And by the reprimanding frown on Recovery Girl's face and Chun-chan's completely polar opposite peeved smile, she'd fucked up big time.

Chun-chan merely folded one leg over the other while folding her arms over her chest, her strained smile never once leaving her face.

"Care to explain what happened back there?"

 _Oh boy._

"I plead the fifth?"

 _Smack!_

Nagi yelped at the swat her hand received from Recovery Girl's syringe cane. Her scowl deepened as she walked back from where she'd been standing on her bedside to join Chun-chan while sitting a few feet away from her desk. Finally, Chun-chan sighed defeatedly before frowning herself.

"This is not a joking matter," Recovery huffed quite livid. "You're lucky you're here and not at a hospital right now, young lady."

"What? Why?"

Chun-chan took the time then to explain the damages. That she had surpassed her weight limit almost five times over and caused quite some damage to her skeletal structure and a few internal organs wasn't even the worst of it apparently. Not by a long shot. Yohsei's Wither, for the millisecond that it'd been in contact with her, had destabilized and dropped her vitals quite a bit. Dangerously close to critical according to Recovery. Mm, so that's why she'd felt so suddenly at ease after his hit. Nagi had known what he could do with that particular Pix which was why she'd kept her distance. She just never thought it went to such extremes.

 _Yikes._

"W-Well, all's well that ends well, right?" Nagi chuckled a bit but stopped abruptly when she noticed she was the only one finding anything funny about it. "You aren't done...are you?"

"Hardly," Chun-chan replied before giving the word to the older heroine.

Recovery Girl scowled to herself for a bit as if attempting to make sure of what she was going to say next would be enough to get through her thick skull. Nagi just hoped that it wouldn't come down to that cane of hers again. When she finally seemed that she'd made up her mind, the old hero looked up at her.

"Your skeleton..."

Nagi's brow furrowed at the slight hint of a question her word ended with. Something that Chun-chan seemed to share with her as well. "I thought you read about it on her file."

"I have. Quite a few times over, actually." Hopping off of her stool, Nagi watched the old woman as she made her way back to her bedside before lifting her cane. Though she flinched, she breathed a sigh of relief when she only patted one of her legs under the blanket just hard enough for it to bounce with each hit. "What I can't quite wrap my head around is its changing structure and missing ligaments."

Nagi became deathly still. Chun-chan's brow couldn't have furrowed anymore had she tried.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, baffled. Stealthily, Nagi began prying at her IV drip to take it off. If everything else failed, she supposed she could rip it off and run away. A busted vein or anything else for that matter would be ten times better than watching the can of worms that Recovery just pried open explode. "Her ligaments were replaced with artificial ones years ago. It was one of the first reconstructive surgeries done when we got her back."

"That's certainly _not_ what her latest X-rays tell me."

With a resounding smack to deal with her ripping out her IV drip and doltish attempt at running away, Recovery shuffled over to a manila folder at the foot of her bed and pulled out a couple of x-ray films from it. Sticking it up to the small monitor, she lit the screens with a flick of a switch showing to Chun-chan what they captured from her x-rays.

Nagi audaciously averted her gaze with her lips pursed into a thin line, damning herself for actually listening to Recovery and getting a check-up done.

Those jaded eyes of her widened in disbelief at what she saw. Though Nagi couldn't tell the difference if her life depended on it, she knew enough about how her bones should look like in a film enough to know that what they were looking at wasn't right.

Far from it.

Her bone structure was all wonky. And that was putting it lightly. Comparatively speaking, nothing looked like it should. One was denser than the other. She was missing a portion of her pinky. Her spine and vertebrae were thin as could be. Not to mention that all her ligaments were, well, _not there_. Instead of artificial cartilage, titanium replacements were in place. Creations of her own. Nagi even thought she spotted her left leg being slightly longer than her right. Huh, guess that's where that recent uncomfortableness while walking came from. Must've happened during the obstacle race when her legs buckled underneath her.

 _I'll have to fix that later._

"Chitanko Nagi." Shit. Nagi immediately tensed, the tone of Chun-chan's voice and the sudden oppression that overwhelmed her taking over every sense in her. "Explain yourself. Now."

A bit of exasperation brimmed over channeling to her and giving her a taste of what Chun-chan was feeling right that instant. Nagi couldn't blame her. If she were her, she would've already smacked herself to kingdom come. Not wanting _that_ to happen, Nagi took her chance to do as she asked all the while veering her turquoise gaze away from Chun-chan's.

"Well, how do I say this..." she muttered under her breath jokingly in a useless attempt to lighten the mood. "As far as the ligaments go, I kinda ripped them out and replaced them with titanium ones so I could control them better." Chun-cahn blew a gasket almost instantly, something Nagi didn't blame her for in the least.

"Why would you do such a dangerous thing without telling me or anybody about it!?"

"Those artificial ones felt lanky." Lame excuse, yes. She admitted it. But the truth had been the first thing that popped into her head. "The ones I have now are much more malleable and easy to move with."

"You should've said something if they bothered you," Chun-chan retorted still exasperated by her poor choice. "We could've replaced them until we found something that you were comfortable with."

"And keep getting opened up like a damn lab frog? No thanks." Though that came out snappier than she intended for it to, it didn't take away from what she meant to say. It frankly added to it. "Besides, it's done and they're way better than those old ones. No harm, no foul."

"That doesn't explain the structural changes to your skeleton," Recovery Girl intevered while pointing at some of the bigger faults in her bone structure on the film with the thin end of her cane. "Much less if you've been following the surgeon's orders and using your braces while you sleep to keep them from losing their shape."

Unable to keep a straight face or any kind of eye contact for that matter, Nagi averted her gaze as beads of nervous sweat ran down her neck. As if noticing this and tiring of her dodging questions, Suzume reached behind her ear to dial at the contraption there.

"Have you or have you not been following the doctor's instructions, Nagi?"

Nagi felt the disgusting feeling of her brain disconnecting with the rest of her body the moment it happened. Chun-chan—no, Suzume wasn't joking around anymore. It was a miracle she was still somewhat conscious after being induced by her Quirk. Despite that, Nagi couldn't deny the power it held over her and how it urged her to answer.

"I haven't."

"What have you been doing instead that made your body like this?"

"Rearranging myself with my Quirk when I wake up every morning."

She wished she could bite her tongue off. Suzume jumped from her place and for once fumed as she paced the small infirmary. "Settle down, Suzume," Recovery Girl retorted, a frown now directed at the pacing psychologist. "You'll end up influencing us all in this stadium if you don't calm down."

Nagi's brow furrowed at the ludicrous claim. Yes, she knew Suzume was strong, especially where her Quirk was concerned, but could it really be as powerful as Recovery painted it as? The old heroine's words must've worked despite their ridiculousness. Suzume's pacing slowed before she made her way to a far corner of the room, dialing away at her little device and mumbling something Nagi couldn't hear from where she lay.

"Child, what you are doing is dangerous and puts your life at risk every time you do it."

"You don't have to tell me," she grumbled back but was quieted by her cane striking the tiled floor.

"Apparently I do if your foolishness is anything to go by. Do you not realize just how many times you have dodged major organ damage? Shall I paint you a picture? Of how any night that your bones lost their form and turned malleable they could've very well abruptly reformed in the wrong place when you woke up without you realizing it and hurt yourself?" She huffed once more and ended her point with, "It is quite the miracle that you have avoided not only minor injuries but also the likes of punctured lungs, lacerated organs, spinal cord injuries and even brain injury despite your careless actions. The damage you sustained today because of their displacement is proof enough that no luck runs thick enough."

 _Okay, when you put it that way, it sounds way worse than I imagined it._

Not like Nagi would admit it. Instead, her pride urged her to double down. So she did.

"I've been fine so far," she stated rather weakly, her voice much less convincing than it'd sounded in her head. "Today just happened to be worse because I didn't have enough time to put myself together."

"That's enough." Suzume's sudden declaration took Nagi by surprise, especially that glower of hers. "If you're not going to take this seriously, then you don't deserve to remain here. I'm revoking my condonement for you to attend Yuuei."

 _What?!_

"No, you can't do that!" Nagi couldn't help the mix of emotions that fired inside her as she scrambled to get off the bed to reach Suzume somehow. Rage and bitterness were among the top contenders. But beside them was also remorse. "Please don't, Suzume. I'm—I-I-I won't do it again, I swear! But please don't do that!"

The resounding _crack_ of Recovery Girl's cane hitting the tile much harder than before took them both out of their bout of anger. Her small voice rose high and terse above their argument then.

"That will be enough from the both of you."

Silence finally fell in the tiny infirmary somehow making it seem much bigger than it really was. The tiny heroine turned to Suzume first, a permanent frown plastered on her face. "Get a hold of your anger, young lady. And stop making outlandish claims like those. No one's expelling this pain on my back anytime soon."

Nagi recoiled at hearing this. Jibe aside, having Recovery Girl defend her stay in Yuuei was the last thing she expected to happen. It was rather strange to say the least. But when her tiny eyes turned to her, Nagi sensed that her odd siding with her was not out of the kindness of her heart.

"As for you, if you so desperately want to remain a student of this school then you will do so under my supervision and conditions."

The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "More?" Recovery raised her cane but before she could strike her, Nagi raised her hands in surrender and to cover her face while crying out, "Alright! Alright! I'll take it!" When there was no more threat, Nagi peaked through the shield of her arms. "So…what conditions are we talking about here?"

"First, your braces." _What a surprise..._ "Not only will you use them as your doctors recommended but you will also implement them into your costume."

"What the hell—why?"

"You've done enough harm to your body as is. Harm you clearly have no qualms in causing yourself. So from now on, our goal will be to ameliorate what's been done and prevent more from happening."

"They're itchy and bulgy though."

"You want to be expelled?" Nagi pursed her lips wishing she could stitch her snappy mouth shut for once. Recovery turned to Suzume then who had been watching from her corner already way calmer than before. "And if it helps ease your mind, she will attend mandatory monthly check-ups at the hospital and biweekly ones with me aside from your sessions."

Suzume's jaded eyes narrowed as she thought about what she was being offered while Nagi prayed silently for her to take it. In the end, she gave in with a heavy sigh.

"Fine. I'll have a word with Shouta about it to make sure she sees it through."

"She will. Won't you, child?" Recovery Girl gave Nagi one last look in order to verify her part of the deal. Nagi simply nodded and accepted all her terms. "Then it's settled."

Nagi watched from her bed as the small woman took from some drawers a bunch of familiar looking braces and tossed them at her to awkwardly catch. Rummaging around, she found what looked to be a complete set from what she remembered; a sleeveless compression shirt with a high neck, a pair of compression sleeves that doubled as fingerless gloves and compression tights with ends for her feet as well. Ugh, these looked to be worse than the ones she wore as a kid.

"This will be the one and only time I'll allow you to arrange yourself in front of me. Do it properly and put those on now. They'll hold while we get you customized ones from the Support Department."

Since she couldn't refuse, Nagi went about it. After ten minutes of putting herself back together, she changed in front of them to assure them she wouldn't cheat them out of using them this time. Like she thought, wearing her braces to keep herself together was inconvenient, not to mention uncomfortable. They made her whole body stiff and her movements slow and rigid. It reminded her of how Iida moved but so much laggier.

"Alright, all done."

"Good," Recovery said, finally sighing a breath of relief. "Keep to your word and we'll keep to ours."

"Will do." When her turquoise eyes met deep jaded ones, Nagi found herself taking a rather deep breath before facing her again, "I promise this time I will. I want to be here, Chun-chan. I really do."

Her suddenly pursed lips tugged to one side before becoming a pout that she released with a long exhale. All at once, her demeanor returned to being that gentle one she knew only mild marred still by that tinge of fury from before. Coming closer, Suzume took something from the bedside table and handed it to Nagi which she took without preamble.

A letter. A very crumpled one.

"What is—"

"Yohsei-kun told me to give it to you when you woke up. He also said that he's sorry that it took him so long to respond."

 _Took him so long to respond?_ Confused beyond belief, she tore through the envelope and took out the paper inside. They were only two pages. The one that laid on top looked old and it was taped at several places like a puzzle to put it back together again. It was also rather familiar. It took her a moment to realize that it was her own handwriting. _It's my letter._ The one Yohsei's brother had ripped in front of her now sat in her lap. Skimming over it, she placed it aside to look at the page beneath it. This one was newer albeit crumpled. The handwriting was neat, somewhat slanted, and telltale smudges that told her one thing.

This was Yohsei's handwriting. Without wasting another second, she read through it.

' _ **Nagi,**_

 _ **I'm sorry this took so long. I meant to give you a reply sooner. Especially after I found out that my brother was interrupting so many of your other letters. Sad to say those never made it to me. Your last one did though. Torn to little pieces that were a bit of a pain to tape back together as you can see but it did.**_

 _ **I don't have much to say about what you wrote. I frankly don't care to hear your apologies because I've stopped thinking there was ever the need for any. What happened between us—all you did to me—I want to believe that it wasn't of your own volition. The little girl that helped me through those trying times, that held my hand the day we escaped and carried me out of that hellhole on her bloodied back would never. I believe that.**_

 _ **I won't lie; every time I look at you, I tremble still. My body can't help but react to you with fear, but it's slowly coming around after my mind. I know you wouldn't purposefully harm me anymore. We were all manipulated by circumstances and people we couldn't control. People like my brother don't understand that, maybe they never will, but us who lived through that...I want to think we do. We know there's a difference between what they made and who we are. The line just gets a little blurry and a little hard to see sometimes.**_

 _ **I'm coming to terms with seeing that line on the sand where you're concerned. You hurt me the most out of everybody, Nagi, but you're also the one that helped me the most. You gave me hope when there was none. And even when I hated you for a long time, I don't want that to hang over me anymore because I know that I don't actually hate you. I just hate that girl that hurt me so much. But that girl isn't you anymore. It hasn't been for a long time. Just like I'm not the scared little girl you helped back then either.**_

 _ **We've both changed. I want to continue to do so till the day comes that I no longer tremble when you're near me. Till the day that you no longer have that pained look in your eyes. So, let's keep changing for the better until the day comes that we change for good.**_

 _ **Yohsei."**_

Big warm droplets rolled down Nagi's cheeks as she reread the short letter over and over again unable to believe the words written in it. Sobbing a little, she hid it away by holding the piece of paper closer to her chest as if to let the words be etched into her heart.

"Nagi..."

A small chuckle bubbled from her throat and broke through her tears at Suzume calling her name. Wiping them away, she carefully folded the letter into a neat square before placing it gingerly in her pocket. More laughter erupted from her when she became unable to withhold her giddiness.

"People change, don't they, Chun-chan?"

The sudden question caught her off guard and it took a moment for her to reply. "Some do, yes."

"For the better?"

"They certainly can."

"You think…" Nagi paused briefly afraid of what the answer would be, but took strength from the warm, crumpled letter in her pocket. "You think I can be better too? More than what they made me to be?"

For a small instant, she could hear Chiyoko's voice taunting her still—" _No, you can't. You never will."_ —and though loud, Nagi forced herself to focus only on the rush of emotions Yohsei's words had created in her.

"You think I can make a hero out of what _he_ made me?"

A sudden shadow came over her, occluding the light but wrapping her in warmth she missed dearly for so very long. Suzume's arms wrapped around her shoulders and leaned her head against her own as she did.

"You're more than what happened to you, Nagi. And most certainly more than what they did to you," she whispered kindly. "So much more."

Her gentle words reminded Nagi of Aizawa's, the same sincerity and fortitude resounding in both.

" _You're not what anybody made you to be. You're your own person."_

Nagi's grip tightened on Suzume's blouse wrinkling the fabric in her grasp. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Nagi smiled against her shoulder despite the tears that poured silently down her cheeks.

"I want to be a hero, Miss Suzume. More than anything I want to be my own kind of hero. One that's brave like Yohsei, kind like All Might, capable like Eraser, gentle like you… I want to be a hero like so many out there." A light and bubbly chuckle escaped her lips through the tears, "And you know what?"

Suzume leaned her head closer to listen.

"I actually think I can do it now. I think...I can become a hero...because it's what _I_ want to be. And no one—no one and nothing in this whole world is going to stop me from becoming one."

For once and ever since she could remember, she could finally see the path clearly, colored with a myriad of colors and lined with light as it became. And down the end of that long stretch of road was what she would never again lose sight of for as long as she lived.

 _I want to be a hero who saves others...and the one who will save me, too._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Finally had the time to write this properly. It took much longer to write this one (not just bc of the usual time constraints) but bc i completely 180'd the plot of the chapter from what i had originally outlined. The fight had originally been the other way around; i.e. Yohsei trying to run away and Nagi keeping her in. But i decided to change it bc, well, Nagi is the one that's most stagnated compared to the other children. I wanted to show that here, hope that it got through. And as stuck and stubborn as she is, she needs a push or two...or ten. I hope her headstart to becoming a real hero got through as well!**

 **I'd like to give a huge thank you to all you new people following and favoriting this story! Thank you to:** _PurpleDeathDragon, windlily6370, IttyBittyCity. Call Me Crooked, Schwarz Tiger, Morgandodd99, Danke Schoen, CW15, HeeHeeHee01, abciluvpie, darkxion, sarajama95, Piyot, Min Rexzilla, Jazz251, amgs_ **and** _aRkTyPeLuNnAr_ **! Knowing you guys are here to stay means a lot and keeps me writing despite everything!**

 **Now to respond to the dear reviewers:**

 _Aviantei:_ **I'm getting some time in to write when I can. Not much but it's something. And yeah, i agree, last chapter is quite confusing. i kinda wanna go back and rewrite it so that it flows a little better. But if it left you confused bc of everything in it, then awesome! my work here is done x3 Also school has killed me more than twice now, but I'm getting back up each time. Nothing's keeping me from going forwrd!**

 _amgs:_ **as;dfkhsldjfsk;afhd THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR AMAZING WORDS! It's amazing to hear that you love this story as much as you do. And no, THANK YOU for taking the time to review! You have no idea how happy it makes me, i'm crying TwT. This one's for you, dear.**

 _Anya:_ **Glad you stuck around despite what you found unappealing about the story. It made me rethink how I introduce OCs and how sometimes i do it at quite the neck-breaking pace. Certainly something that I see looking back at GR's first chapters. Also thank you for the compliment! I try hard so that my writing isn't so redundant or bland, so it's amazing to hear others see it! I'm super happy you didn't give up and found something about this story that has you into it! :)**

 **Now, remember that one report back in chapter ten? Well, it looks like whoever's accessing them just got leeway into another one.**

* * *

 **ACCESSING RECORDS...**

 **ACCESS AUTHORIZED.**

 **NOTE: DAMAGE TO FILES. PARTIAL RECOVERY ACHIEVED.**

 **MONTHLY EXAMINATION REPORT.**

 **Date: Aug 24, 2XXX**

 **==== SUBJECT INFO**

 **Designation: Beta**

 **DOB: 08/23/2XXX**

 **Sex: F**

 **Age: 8**

 **Height: 128**

 **Weight: 24**

 **Wing: B**

 **Room: 14**

 **Dominance: Complete**

 **==== SUBJECT NOTES**

 **Last updated: 06/05/2XXX**

 **As of August 24th, 2XXX, the subject must be monitored until further notice. Poses no harm. Changes to ADDITIVES must be monitored and logged.**

 **==== PHYSICAL RESULTS**

 **BMI** _Data not found_

 **HR 95**

 **SP 98**

 **DP** _Data not found_

 **TMP 36.1**

 **Eyes - Normal**

 **Ears -** _Data not found_

 **Teeth - Normal**

 **Extremities - Normal**

 **Motor Functionality - Impaired**

 **Sensory Functionality - Normal**

 **Pain Tolerance (01-10) - 03**

 **==== PHYSICAL RESULTS (Q PLUS)**

 **HR 143**

 **TMP 36.7**

 **Strength - Heightened**

 **Triggered Activation - POSITIVE**

 **Sensitivity(01-10) - 08**

 **Control(01-10) - 08**

 **==== PHYSICAL NOTES**

 **Last Updated 08.24.2XXX**

 **The following behaviors have been noted and should be ignored in future examinations: logorrhea; scratching of upper extremities; attempts to harm to self must be halted immediately. All attempts to self-starvate should be halted immediately. If need be, the subject will be forced fed and hydrated via IV.**

 **==== TEST RESULTS**

 **Physical Response Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Emotional Response Test == 50 FAILED**

 **Physical Control Test == 65 FAILED**

 **Emotional Control Test == 05** _ **Data not found**_

 **Natural Activation Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Natural Suppression Test == 80 FAILED**

 **Q PLUS Activation Test ==** _ **Data not found**_ **PASSED**

 **Q PLUS Suppression Test == 12 FAILED**

 **Group Integration Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Assimilation Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Minor Threat Response Test == 100** _ **Data not found**_

 **Minor Threat Elimination Test ==** _ **Data not found**_ **PASSED**

 **Life Threat Response Test == 100 PASSED**

 **Life Threat Elimination Test ==** _ **Data not found**_ **PASSED**

 **==== TEST NOTES**

 **Last Updated 08.24.2XXX**

 **Requested repetition of following tests:** _Data not found_ _ **;**_ **Emotional Response Test; Emotional Control Test;** _Data not found_ **; Q PLUS Suppression Test.**

 **Requests authorized:** _Data not found_ _ **;**_ _Data not found_ **;** _Data not found_ _ **;**_ **Natural Suppression Test; Q PLUS Suppression Test.**

 **Note: Beta 14 shows no signs of being cognitively compromised after 5 months of ADDITIVES. All cognitive tests have been** _data not found_ **. No signs of deterioration as of yet. Her habit of talking to** _data not found_ **is concerning, however. Doctor, do review this. Beta 14 is one of the few who has remained mentally intact for the most part after Dr.** _redacted_ **made his interventions. Even if it's parental** _data not found_ **, there is no precedent to ascertain that the** _data not found_ **of multiple ones will not affect her already fragile mental state. We should begin treatment with** _redacted_ **in order to avoid any complications, so long as it does not interfere with her tests.**

 **==== END OF REPORT**

"No," a deep voice spoke, eyes glued on the open file with a scowl. They clicked their tongue in frustration. "This isn't it, either."

* * *

 **I was going to add more to this chapter but decided to leave it here along with this added report, the catharsis needed to be alone, I felt. So next time, I'll be wrapping the Sports Festival for good. No matter how long the chapter ends up being, it shall end next time! Get ready for some Nagi and Todoroki interactions, as well as some Bakugou put in there as well :3**

 **That's all from me, lovelies. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you all stay tuned for the next update~!**

 **\- Evie**


	14. Platinum

**I love you guys. You're the best.**

* * *

 **Platinum**

— _One of the least reactive metals and also a major precious metal, it is a beautiful silver-white hue when pure. With its highly dense, malleable, and ductile properties, it's applications extend from jewelry to electrical applications. Derived from the Spanish 'platina' meaning 'little silver'._

* * *

The summer sun shone brightly overhead, its rays beating down on a lone house and turning it into an oven. Fans did little to ameliorate the heat that seemed to warp the very air she breathed but with the air conditioner broken down there wasn't much else to be done. That her mother was cooking dinner not far away in the kitchen didn't help much either.

Lounging away, Nagi laid on her belly against the tiled floor of their tiny living room with a fan hitting her head on to fend off the heat. Among the many toys loitering the floor around her, the five-year-old entertained herself with one in particular: a small metal horse. The afternoon light that streamed through the wavering curtain shone a glow on the toy she held between her small hands. It splayed and fractured it in a beautiful array of silver and gold making the horse come to life with its colors. Nagi trotted the toy across the floor, its metal hooves clip-clopping loudly and mimicking the animal's whinnies as she did. Boring easily though, she turned on her back and brought the toy over her face as she did to inspect it.

It wasn't a detailed horse. It had a rather plush-like appearance despite being completely made of metal. Even with no detail anybody who saw it could tell what it resembled. Nagi loved it, odd as it was. It held a special place in her heart after all. It'd been a present from her father not long after she turned four the day her Quirk manifested.

" _My father gave me this when I was your age,"_ he told her a year ago. _"For me, it was as much a toy as it was a way to practice how to use my Quirk. I hope it helps you do the same."_

Nagi's brow scrunched together at the memory and she squeezed the horse hard between her hands, her whole brain concentrating on the idea of denting or bending the titanium like her dad could. Squeezing as hard as she could though proved useless when she felt nothing. Not even the tingling that tickled her fingertips when her Quirk activated. Fed up after a few more tries, Nagi shot up from the floor and hurled the toy across the room and out the patio's open door sending it flying.

Coming in from outside just then, her father jumped out of the way of the metal horse as it clanked over tiles and thudded to a stop on the grass outside.

" _Whoa there! What was that about, Jellybean?"_

 _"Dumb horse doesn't work!"_

 _"What's happening?"_

Hiroyuko waved at Kaya dismissively when she poked her head out from the kitchen before bending down to pick up the toy. He walked over to Nagi calm as could be before taking a seat down behind her, encircling her with his legs as he held the toy before her.

 _"Were you trying to use your Quirk?"_ She sniffled and crossed her arms in front of her chest, cheeks puffed out in anger. He smiled tenderly before leaning in to better show her the horse in his hands. _"You know, I had trouble when I was little too."_

 _"Liar."_

 _"No, really!"_ With his thumb, he gently brushed over the horse's body. It dented as easily as fresh clay under his touch and Nagi couldn't help being equally amazed and peeved at the ease he did that with. _"Say, what do you feel when you touch titanium, Nagi?"_

At the question, Nagi splayed her tiny hands over the horse, her fingers and palms of her hands cool against the metal. _"Tingly."_

 _"Anything else?"_

Her brow furrowed deeply as she focused the whole of her brain. For a moment, all she felt was the unsteady tingling on her fingertips that came and went. But the longer she held her fingers on the metal, the more she couldn't help but notice something. The slightest of movements as the metal seemed to somehow expand and fall under her touch.

Almost like it was—

 _"Breathing."_

 _"That's right."_

He cradled his hands underneath the titanium horse and caressed the back of hers with his thumbs. The moment he did this, Nagi felt the tingling in her hands double, the gentle touch of her father's fingers affecting something she couldn't see.

 _"You see, Nagi, our Quirk doesn't just allow us to control titanium. One simple touch connects us with something that isn't alive and through that connection, we breathe part of ourselves into it. With that tiny breath, it becomes something living and turns into a part of us."_

 _"Is that why it tingles, daddy?"_ Nagi hung her head back to face him as an awestruck expression upturned her frown from before. " _'Cause it's happy?"_

 _"Yeah, Jellybean, it tingles because it's happy. It's so happy, in fact, that it lets you bend it however you want."_

Her awed expression fell almost instantly at that.

The tingling hadn't stopped. She could feel how it'd become stronger from where her father's thumb overlaid on the back of her hand. But for as much as she sensed it, it was easy to tell that it wasn't her causing it. It was only her father's fingers that were pressing dimples on the horse as if it were nothing more than wet sand. Underneath her own hands, however, it remained as stiff as ever.

 _"But I can't bend it. It's too hard for me."_

 _"Maybe it feels like it right now but it won't always be. That_ _tingling you feel, that's just the start. You're just learning to make the connection. With lots of practice though, you'll get better until one day..."_ His hands closed around the metal horse with force and dismantled it into a heap of shapeless, shiny titanium. Nagi gasped in horror, her heart broken a little from watching it be squashed right before her eyes and losing all resemblance to her horse. _"It'll happen without you even having to think about it."_

She tried once more to push her fingers into the clay-like mound but when nothing happened once more, her frown grew, tears beginning to brim at the corner of her eyes.

 _"But what if I can't. What if I keep messing up no matter how much I try?"_

 _"It's alright to mess up, Nagi. Everybody messes up from time to time, so it's not really something to be sad about."_

Nagi kept a watchful eye on her father's hands as they molded the metal in between his fingers. It was a strange sight. The metal hardened on its own as he passed a finger across it. Every carve and form he made with his fingers would grow stiff and return to its former rigidity as he began shaping it out.

Before long, the heap of metal in his hands returned to its original shape. It definitely wasn't the same horse as before. A few details had changed from being dismantled like it had. But that didn't matter to her. She took the newly formed horse and squeezed it in a tight hug as she leaned against her father's chest and into his embrace.

" _When you're down and can't think of what to do, simply get up and try again. No matter how tough it looks or the times you mess up. It's only when you bother trying that you find out whether it can be done. So try, Nagi-_

 _Always try."_

* * *

"Don't run with your legs barely adjusted!"

"Sorry! I won't after this! I promise!"

Yet there she went as fast as her fumbling feet could take her towards the nearest staircase. Despite the pain that was now ebbing thanks to Recovery Girl, Nagi sped through the empty corridors in hopes of reaching their seats. But she cursed under her breath the moment explosions rang through the stadium while she found herself nowhere near them. _Damn, Firecracker's impatient as ever._ Running through the nearest exit she spotted, she found herself in a small alcove surrounded by the general audience. Not caring where she'd ended up, she sprung towards the banister and held the railing tight in her hands as she overlooked the match.

Yohsei against Bakugou. Now there was a match she had her qualms about. Especially after seeing how seriously and far Firecracker took it against Ochako.

"C'mon, Yohsei…"

The whole of her concentration got snatched from her when a sudden chill down her neck got her to spin around. There leaning against the wall not far from where she'd exited was the last person she expected to see.

"Todoroki?"

He didn't quite acknowledge her when she called out to him questioningly. The only thing he did was give her a sidelong glance before turning back to the match, arms crossed over his chest and his expression as blank and apathetic as always. Though somewhat awkward at first, Nagi brushed it off to pay attention to the match instead.

Explosions rained down on Yohsei's shield leaving him little time to react offensively. And even when he found those openings, the slow changes between his Quirks gave Bakugou ample time to react. Even if there _was_ near zero lag time between changes, Nagi somehow knew that Firecracker would've still evaded his advances with those crazy ass reflexes of his. Thinking about their match got her brain thinking about the remaining matches. Though most were banal at best, there were a few that she looked forward to. In her head, she concocted different scenarios with what little information she had at hand to see how each could possibly turn out.

 _God, I just need to mumble and I'd be Midoriya 2.0._

As her brain split between the match and what outcomes the tournament could have, it suddenly switched to the people in the arena. Though Bakugou was still there, Todoroki now took Yohsei's place and she imagined how that match would end. It began as simple as that but the more she let her mind think about Todoroki, the more it brought back the image of that lonesome back of his which in turn reminded her a lot of that solemn expression Rei sometimes had.

 _They're more similar than they seem at first glance._

Despite turquoise eyes never straying from the fanfare of explosions and shields, her mind couldn't help but be entertained by the vast amount of coincidences her life was turning out to be. Not only were she and Yohsei in the same class, but she was also classmates with the son of her old hospital friend. _The odds, right?_ It made her wonder whether her luck was bottom wrung or simply very selective. When the chilliness from before came again, Nagi voted for the latter. So as to dispel it and the awkwardness around them, Nagi let herself do what she did best: be obnoxious.

"Firecracker—I mean, Bakugou's such a rabid fighter, isn't he? If he didn't hold back with Ochako, I'm sure he won't with Yohsei. Though I'm still sure he can win this." Silence came over the empty space between them, one very deafening despite the roaring crowd around them. _Alright, attempt number two._ "'Cause I mean, even Bakugou ain't dumb enough to ignore how strong Yohsei is after seeing what he did to me."

"Kisaragi won't win." The sudden declaration, so forceful and definitive, caught Nagi's attention along with the sudden chill that was actually a few paces beside her now and not only in her head as Todoroki took to standing closer to the railing. "Not if he keeps hesitating like he's doing."

 _Hesitating?_ Turquoise eyes returned to face the arena were the onslaught continued. It took Nagi a mere glance at the explosions and Yohsei's changing Quirk to notice the split-second hesitations. They were diminutive—the flinch of his hands, the tensing of his legs, the flickering between Pixes—but they were there. Her gaze averted downward to were her own hands gripped the banister separating them from the rows of seats below.

"He...must be a little out of sorts still. That he almost sent me to the hospital must've freaked him out."

 _Not just him, either._ That brush with Pix's Wither was breath-taking and not in the good sense of the word. But that was no excuse. Yohsei needed to get over this just as much as she did. Their fight showed her just how close he was to making it, too. He couldn't afford to be afraid now. And she wouldn't let him be.

"But it's okay…" she muttered under her breath. Gripping the metal bar tightly, Nagi inhaled deeply before jumping on the tips of her toes to bellow out at the top of her lungs.

" **C'MON, YOH-KUN! YOU CAN DO IT! BE BRAVE!"**

She didn't know if they heard her. It was honestly hard to tell if her shout was even loud enough to reach the arena with it being mingled with the rest of the crowd. But the little twitch of his ears that she saw as they sprung straight up in her general direction gave her hope. Just as much as the way his stance deepened and sprung forward into a sprint towards Bakugou. Explosions scattered a smokescreen that blocked their view from the battle but Nagi held onto the hope that even if he held back, Yohsei would figure something out against their class's firecracker.

"Whatever the case may be, you're honestly hoping for too much if you think he'll be able to beat Bakugou while holding back the way he is."

The deadpanned comment made her turn sideways at Todoroki. Having his right side fully on display, made her mind go straight to Rei. It was getting harder and harder not to see his mother anytime she caught a glimpse of that side of him. But that coolness that the two gave off was completely different. While hers was soothing, his was nothing but biting.

Spiteful even.

" _I'll reject him completely by winning first place without using it."_

 _That's right._ The words she'd inadvertently overheard in that tunnel were full of more spite than she had heard in ages from someone other than Yori or herself. And as she recalled Todorki's conversation with Midoriya, advice from Suzume came to mind along with her own wandering thoughts.

" _Our goals help define us, but nothing does that better than how we go about accomplishing them."_

The more those words mingled in her mind and the more her ire of him badmouthing Yohsei grew, the more she couldn't help the words that bubbled in her throat and ultimately burst out into the open.

"Yohsei may be holding back but at least he's willing to move beyond it. He's trying to be better than that. And frankly, not using your Quirk because you're afraid of the damage it can do is much more manageable than not using it just to spite someone else that doesn't even care about you." Aloofly, Nagi gave a sidelong glance only to meet the mismatched glare of her classmate. His sudden break of character didn't surprise her. And it certainly wasn't enough to keep her from finishing her thoughts. "So unlike you, spite won't come back to bite him in the ass later."

She wouldn't lie and say that seeing him pissed off wasn't gratifying.

"You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he said.

"I think I have an idea after what I overheard in the tunnels."

Mismatched eyes narrowed further as he scowled and clicked his tongue at her. "So aside from obnoxious, you're meddlesome."

"Curious sounds cuter," she replied but stopped her snarkiness from going any further. Instead she took the chance to calm down and give him a piece of her mind. "But I won't argue with you on the lingo. I know I talk out of my ass most of the time but this ain't one of them. Sure, I _don't_ know what goes on with you and your family but I'm not that unfamiliar with the idea of doing something just for the sole purpose of antagonizing others."

 _More like I have a damn PhD in the subject._ Nagi brushed the notion aside as her fingers brushed against the cool titanium that rested around her wrists and reminded her so vividly of what she'd said to Suzume not even a few minutes ago.

" _I want to be a hero. More than anything I want to be my own kind of hero."_

And if she wanted to start shaping the idea of the hero she wanted to be, now was as good a place to start as any.

"But I'm starting to think that maybe the best way to get back at them is to turn the horrible thing they made into something that I can use to do some good."

Stepping back from the banister, Nagi took a deep breath. Saying those words had cost her way more strength that she thought. Now that they were out in the open though, her chest became strangely lighter. Her hand held her other wrist over her chest to savor the sensation which brought a small smile to her lips. Whether he saw it or not didn't really matter to her.

"I know it's not my place to say anything—I don't know what life you've lived nor what caused such a nice person like Rei to snap like you say she did—but you shouldn't do all this just to spite your old man." Raising her head, she saw how Todoroki turned to one side to look at her. This time, instead of the white side of his, Nagi saw bright red hair and a striking seaglass eye. A complete contrast to Rei's, but one that suited Todoroki in an odd yet fitting sort of way. "I don't expect you to see things the way I'm starting to. Honestly, I lost track of why I nagged you with this to begin with. Might've been 'cause you pissed me off with all you said." _Reminds me too much of myself._ Nagi shook her head at the thought but smiled all the same. "Guess I'm just a little too excited, y'know? About finding something that's my own that I can be proud of."

An extremely large explosion took her attention away from her own thoughts as the stadium was set alight by it. _Shit, the match!_ Turning back to the arena, Nagi waited with bated breath for the smoke to dissipate and see what became of Yohsei. Turquoise eyes widened at seeing that the only one that was left in the arena at all was Bakugou, his arm fully extended before him as he held it aloft with the other. _Where…?_ Following that line guided her to Yohsei as he fell over to his knees from having just crashed into the stadium's far off wall. All it took to let the fact settle was Midnight's claim as she announced it to the whole crowd.

" **Kisaragi-kun is off bounds! Bakugou-kun advances to the third round!"**

Her shoulders slumped down. What a bummer. Despite the odds, there really had been a part of her that believed Yohsei could win. But the small grin she could see on Yohsei as he was being transported out of the arena by the nurse robots appeased her a bit and made her own smile broaden.

"Even if he didn't win, he still gave one hell of a fight, huh?"

At turning about to face him though, her eyes grew wide at suddenly finding herself utterly alone. Searching about the small space and through the entrance that led into the tunnels only proved her point. Asshole left her talking by herself. But when she saw the images that took over the screen overhead that announced the participants of the next match, she saw it fit to forgive him for the slight.

 _Just this once._

* * *

"Alright, who's ass am I kicking?"

Ochako blinked utterly confused by Nagi's sudden threat. Those around her like Iida and Tokoyami recoiled as well at the seriousness coming from her tone. None of that bothered Nagi though as she stood at the end of the rows of their spectator box with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?" she asked.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about, Nagi-chan!"

"I'm talking about the asshole that made you cry." Ochako's cheeks turned red while the other two's eyes widened at the news. Nagi though was either not aware or let it slide completely as she clicked her tongue. "Nevermind, I remember now."

Stalking off and up the steps again, Nagi stopped at Bakugou's seat before kicking his shin.

"What the fuck, Twinkle Toes!?"

"Go apologize." Despite her irritation, Nagi managed to keep her cool and let it show simply by the frown that she let show.

Bakugou, however, wasn't having any of it. "What the hell are you talking about!?"

Just as she was about to open her mouth again, two arms hung onto one of hers as they pulled her down the steps with the grip they had on her brace. The moment she met those dark chocolate eyes, she pursed her lips quizzically.

"There's no need for him to apologize."

"But Ocha—"

"No buts! Now let's go sit—whoa!"

There wasn't any stopping Ochako's fall. Not when Nagi barely realized what was happening after she caught the pressure on her arm gone. Staring down and finding it bare with no brace to speak of told her exactly how her friend had fallen. Nagi fumbled over her and helped her onto her seat with Tokoyami's help and apologized profusely about the fall.

"No worries," she said with a chuckle. "I shouldn't have been pulling on your, um…" Ochako lifted her hand at that to raise the black brace that she still had in her hand. "What is this exactly?"

This time it was Nagi's turn to chuckle the awkwardness away as she took the garment back. "Just some fancy bandaging Recovery ordered me to use." She promptly took a seat next toTokoyami before going about fixing the brace back onto her arm. "Nothing to worry about."

Though she could tell by the look on their faces that they weren't satisfied in the least with that answer, the roar of the crowd caught their attention back as the next participants took center stage. Nagi thanked her lucky stars for that small breather but when Present Mic started announcing Midoriya and Todoroki, her breath slowed as if to make it easier to put attention to their match.

The tension that rose in their seats was palpable to her as they all watched their classmates ready with every word out of Mic's booming speakers. Nagi herself couldn't help grip the bottom of her seat seeing Midoriya grabbing one wrist with his hand and Todoroki taking the one step forward to prepare his attack. They were wound and ready to pounce and did so the instant Mic's let out the magic word.

" **START!"**

In less than a second, a barrage of ice shot out an instant before a powerful impact broke through it. It was strange to think of the ice as beautiful, but Nagi couldn't help it. Especially when the moment they broke due to Midoriya's attack, the giant iceberg fractured into pieces that shot upward and refracted the sunlight. Blocking the gelid rush of air that swept through them with her arms, Nagi felt the chill run through her as she let out a muttered, "Fucking hell..."

"Deku-kun countered Todoroki's ice!"

"Not without penance."

Tokoyami's deft counter made Nagi realize exactly what he meant by that. _Poor guy busted his finger destroying the barrage._ Unlike his prior match or even the games before now, Midoriya was pulling out all the stops against Todoroki and Nagi couldn't blame him. Todoroki hadn't declared war against him for nothing, after all. And she had a mild suspicion that her talk with him didn't have him in the best of moods, either.

"Sorry, Midoriya."Though Tokoyami gave her an odd glance, Nagi didn't bother explaining why she was apologizing when another round of their first attack and counter repeated itself.

The moment more ice shot out, another finger got expended to save him from it. And by the looks of things it was as painful as it looked. _Hang in there._

"Ah. It started!?" Nagi faced back at hearing Kirishima's voice as he climbed down the stairs to where most of them, including herself, sat. Kaminari welcomed him back, congratulating him on getting through.

And though still sour about her own loss, Nagi did the same, bracing her arm over the back of her seat and raising a fist at him. "Ready to kick some Firecracker ass?"

"I'll definitely do my best!" he told her, bumping his fist with hers before looking back at Bakugou. "Let's have a good fight, Bakugou!"

Nobody was surprised by what was starting to become one of Bakugou's signature lines. Frankly, she wasn't in the mood to annoy him much. It wasn't much to stop her altogether though. But before she could even say any snarky comeback just to spite him, she let out a small yelp when she slipped from where she hung her arm over her chair. Catching herself was easy by stopping her fall with her other hand on the empty seat beside her, but the moment she did, the crumpling of paper took her aback and made her stare down to find what had made that noise. _This is…_ Nagi picked up the scribbled notebook and leafed through it all the while overhearing Kirishima talking.

"But man, you and Todoroki can both shoot off powerful attacks that cover a lot of ground. Like 'Bam!'"

Turquoise eyes widened at connecting one dot with the other as she skimmed through the notebook that she now realized was Midoriya's. He was the only one she could think of that would have all these details of all 21 of them and their Quirks so meticulously categorized. Damn, even she was there with lots of details jotted everywhere. But her awe subsided when she suddenly came across Todoroki's rather empty page.

 _He's got close to nothing on Todoroki. How the hell is he fighting him then when he's the type to overanalyze every little thing?_

"I'm not just shooting them off. Don't underestimate 'em." Nagi let her head hang back at Bakugou's rather tame response to the guys that continued to bombard him with questions. "If you overuse your muscles, the muscle fibers tear and if you keep running, you'll run out of breath."

Tapping her finger on the blank pages of Todoroki's crude drawing, she read the one line that stood out to her thanks to Bakugou's words. 'Creates ice where his right side touches (hand or foot). Can create within seconds. Can be of great magnitude'. He had jotted down what he'd seen Todoroki do, the flashy glaciers that took seconds to form. But all that output of power…

 _Even_ my _bones break if I put too much weight on them._

"He's like us."

"What'd you mean 'like you', Chi?"

Nagi didn't answer. She simply let her head fall back against the back of the chair to look at the person that sat right behind her. Crimson eyes narrowed as they locked with her turquoise ones. Nagi stared unflinchingly and only replied with, "Isn't he?"

Bakugou clicked his tongue and Nagi simply gave him a droll state, taking that for the only kind of affirmation she would get from him.

"Quirks are physical abilities, too. They must also have some kind of limit."

 _There, see. Was that so hard to say?_

"If I think about it like that, I guess that makes sense…" Nagi watched how plainly it showed on Kirishima's face what he was thinking. "Then, against the instant-killer Todoroki, Midoriya wants—"

"To tire him out," Nagi offered before leaning forward to catch Iida's attention. "Pres, you got a pencil I could borrow?"

Ochako blinked from her seat at the out of the blue question. "A pen—whoa!" She shot back against her seat the moment Iida's arm outstretched to offer the very thing she asked for.

"Here you go, Chitanko-kun."

"Always the reliable one." She chuckled and muttered a quick 'thanks' to him before lifting her legs to rest her feet on the end of her chair. Using her elevated lap as a desk, she quickly went about jotting down what she figured out with the others.

"Should you be recording such findings on something that is not yours?" Tokoyami asked, watching from the corner of his eyes as she jotted on furiously.

"I think he'll thank me for our insight later. He's got more important things to think about at the moment."

Another gelid air rushed past them that made Nagi hold the notebook close to her chest lest it was blown out of her grasp and lost. Taken aback as she was, there wasn't much else to do but watch Todoroki in the midst of his attack as he rushed forward with a rail of ice. _He's trying to shorten the distance._ And it worked. Nagi gasped the instant his ice caught the tip of Midoriya's scuffed up red hightops, her hold around the notebook tightening in response. There wasn't time to worry about much though when a force much stronger than the last blocked their view from above. Once the dust cleared, Nagi realized exactly why that had been.

Ochako stared down in disbelief, eyes widened a bit in horror. "...his arm!"

Noticing a drastic change on the other side too, Nagi quickly interjected. "Todoroki's too."

"It's frost." Tokoyami saw the same ice that she did starting to encroach on him. It's what Bakugou meant. Whatever happened to him when he overused his explosions, the damage it caused her to carry titanium over her weight limit—that same equivalent was starting to happen to Todoroki. That frosty, long breath he let out proved it. But he wasn't even close to reaching his limits though. Not if the barrage of ice he sent after Midoriya was anything to go by.

Nagi held the notebook in anticipation, quiet, hopeful words escaping under her breath when it was about to reach Midoriya.

"Where are you looking?"

Her breath hitched the moment another impact stopped the ice. This time it wasn't so much what he did so much as what she thought she heard him say that caught her off guard. That expression she saw on his face—the way those mossy eyes looked forward and nowhere else, determined as she'd never seen them—only seemed to bolster her guess. _Midoriya...you see it too._ Fingers gripped the edges of his charred and scribbled notebook tight at the realization.

Maybe she was seeing what she wanted to see in his words. Maybe she was completely wrong thinking that he could see what she had when looking at Todoroki's lonesome back.

But whatever the case was, those words gave her hope that maybe— _just maybe_ —Midoriya could do something about it.

"Come at me with everything you've got!"

That or he's seriously trying to get himself killed by taunting Todoroki into using his fire. And despite herself, Nagi couldn't help thinking that it was a mix of both...though she did have a hunch that his nonexistent preservation instinct held a major weight in that balance.

All thoughts got thrown out the window when Todoroki rushed at Midoriya again. This time, though, she noticed something different. _He's slowing down._ This whole endurance plan was working. He was tiring him down and used the advantage created to get a hit in. One that got even her grabbing at her own stomach from how awfully painful it looked.

"It made contact," Tokoyami said under his breath.

"The ice!"

Turquoise eyes widened at verifying Ochako's cries but even that didn't stop either of them. She frankly didn't think there was any slowing them down at this point. If anything, they looked to be fighting with even more fervor than before. Despite the ice becoming slower and the hits coming with reckless abandon, they weren't stopping.

And nobody was stopping them.

 _No_ , a part of her chided herself. _Stopping them now will waste everything that they've put on the line for this. They can't stop them. They shouldn't._ And Midoriya's tone only echoed that resolve that didn't and wouldn't be stopped no matter what.

"Right now, I think you should stop screwing around!" Nagi's breath caught at how quickly the frost began spreading through Todoroki's right side and her own stomach churned in pain, her hand shooting up to catch it, as Midoriya landed yet another, point blank hit that sent him back. "That's why...I will win! I'll surpass you!"

It shocked her that even with Midoriya winning, even when she held so tightly to the notebook, the instant she saw Todoroki down on his knee one phrase kept repeating itself over and over in her head.

 _Fight back. Fight back. Fight back._

Not against Midoriya, not against the others or even his old man, but against that looming loneliness she saw now clear as day clinging and choking the very life out of him.

"...fight it back, Todoroki."

" **It's** _ **your**_ **power, isn't it!?"**

They were just words. But they were the spark needed to set it all ablaze.

Her eyes widened in awe at the flames that roared to life from the arena. Nagi instantly let go of the notebook to raise her arms and block the nasty heatwave that rose onto them. But even then, she kept looking through the intentional gaps she left open. She wouldn't—no, she couldn't look away. Not when watching how furious and vibrantly those crimson and gold flames rose above the stadium brought to mind the small embers that rested in the pit of her own stomach.

Unable to control herself, Nagi shot from her seat all the while fishing her phone out as she rushed to the edge of the banister that separated their box from the arena

"Osoku-chan, watch out!"

"Chi, be careful of the heat!"

But she disregarded them. The fire wouldn't hurt her. Not from this distance. And even if it did, it would be worth the few burns to capture such a magnificent view.

The flames roared so far and to such an extent that they didn't even let the vapor from the rapidly melting ice from his right side rise far in the air. Her eyes remained fixed on her screen through all of it. Every little thing was captured in high definition as she recorded and snapped photos in between the video as fast as her phone would let her. In between the pictures though she stopped abruptly at what she saw—something that looked like water rolling down his cheek from underneath his bicolored bangs. _Condensation?_ Maybe, but there wasn't much time for her to think about it.

Not when Todoroki forced out ice from under his right foot with one stomp. Midoriya responded in kind, his gym clothes tearing from the force. From the corner of her eye, she spotted their teachers moving but paid little attention to them when Todoroki sent out a large barrage of ice. Her phone captured it all. Midoriya's leap as he rushed past his ice with his fist ready to attack and how Todoroki's fire flashed as he summoned it to counter it. It had it all up to the point of impact where the force of the explosion sent her flying backwards.

Nagi let out a giant scream as the explosion lifted her off her feet, her phone flying out of her hand without her realizing as well, and threw her back. Thrashing around to anchor herself onto anything proved useless until a firm grip latched onto the scruff of her jacket and forcefully slammed her back down against the concrete floor and against a seat. Not caring who it was, Nagi hid her face against their side to cover her face from the force of the impact that lasted a few seconds.

Once the air settled down and she felt the hold on her jacket slacken, she peeked from the person's side to find crimson irises glaring down at her. Though she intended to mutter her thanks, Mic's sudden question of who'd won the match brought her concern back to the two who literally just tried to kill each other without meaning to. Running back to the edge of the banister, Nagi waited with bated breath for the dust to settle and felt the air in her lungs leave her the instant she saw Midoriya slackened against the outer wall of the stadium only to fall unconscious.

"M-Midoriya-kun is out of bounds…" Midnight called with a shaky voice before composing herself and whipping her flog towards Todoroki, who, despite his state of half undress, stood tall in the midst of the half destroyed arena. "Todoroki-kun advances to the third round!"

The ruckus that ensued as a bunch of her classmates rushed towards the temporary infirmary snapped her out of her stupor. Ochako, Iida, Tsuyu and Mineta ran past her while the others stayed behind to discuss what the hell had just happened.

Eyes flickered between the robots that carried off Midoriya and Todoroki as he exited through his designated exit without a glance back. Taking a deep breath, Nagi rushed up the steps, stopping briefly to tap Bakugou on the shoulder to get his attention. As she reached the top of the stairs she bent down to quickly nab her phone from the ground, not even bothering to see if it was damaged before putting it in her pocket, and turned back to meet the crimson gaze that looked back over his shoulder at her.

"Thanks for the safe."

Nagi rushed after the four that went to the infirmary but by the time she got to them, they were already being shooed away by Recovery Girl. Ochako, upon seeing her approaching, smiled wearily as Nagi stopped in front of the closed infirmary with a most quizzical expression.

"Recovery Girl said Deku-kun needed surgery."

"That bad?" she cringed visibly.

"Certainly appeared as much by the way his arms were bandaged," Iida added.

"Should we wait for her to finish?" Mineta asked.

Tsuyu tilted her head before shaking her head. "It won't go any faster whether we're here or not."

"That's right!" Gesturing away towards the general direction of their box, Iida gave them all a once over before his angled arm upped the speed. "For now, nothing will come from lingering around. Let's head back to our seats."

While turning to follow behind them, Nagi reached down for her phone and halted in her tracks when she saw the screen all cracked. Though it was still on and functioning, the broken screen was certainly obnoxious. _Someone owes me a new phone._ The moment she remembered what exact moment made her lose it, she stepped back and turned about, her gaze straight down the tunnels.

"Nagi-chan?" Nagi looked back at Tsuyu's call but smiled at both her and Ochako who'd noticed her missing from their group. Lifting a hand in half a prayer, she winked back at them before pointing back.

"Gotta go to the restroom real quick. I'll meet you guys there!"

She gave them no time to question her nor tell her that the bathrooms were in the opposite direction from where she was running to.

* * *

Turquoise eyes calmly met mismatched stormy gray and seaglass blue and let a smile reach her lips as she stood before him. Neither moved when she reached the prep room and he so happened to open the door to leave it. Not wanting to make it so awkward, Nagi chuckled lightly.

"That was quite the fight you gave. Both of you were pretty cool out there." Todoroki let her words travel for a moment before humming in mild agreement. It was something, she supposed, but she didn't come all this way for a simple 'hmm'. "If you were wondering, Midoriya is getting surgery from Recovery for his injuries."

That actually seemed to bring out more words than before.

"Anything serious?"

Nagi shook her head. "Not that I heard, though I don't think we'll know until after he gets out of it." Pursing her lips and giving him a once over, she found it awfully curious that what had once been terribly torn and burnt gym clothes were now pristine as could be. "And you?"

He was reluctant to answer her—that much was obvious by the way he turned himself away from her—but she was grateful that he at least was dumbfounded enough still to give her some sort of answer. "What about me?"

"Your injuries."

Todoroki averted his gaze downward before saying, "They're minor ones."

 _Uh huh._

Skipping forward close enough to titter on the line of personal space, Nagi stretched out one hand to poke at his left side where she more or less remembered all those hits landing. To his credit, Todoroki didn't flinch in the least but the slight grimace that overtook him told her what he refused to.

"Funny. Could've sworn those punches and flames hurt." Nagi didn't take away her hand until Todoroki lightly smacked it away. When he didn't respond to her comment, she smacked his hand back earning a frown from him. "You should go to the infirmary. Have Recovery Girl take a look at you."

"I'm fine," he retorted.

Now it was her turn to scowl at him. "You want me to drag you there? 'Cause I will. Don't you think I won't."

Todoroki finally snapped, losing his patience or whatever little was left of it where she was concerned.

"Why are you so troubled by my wellbeing?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Yes."

"Wrong answer," she deadpanned, bringing her arms to form an 'X' in front of her before going around him to grab him by his shoulders. "Now, stop being such a whiny little brat and let's go to the infirmary."

Todoroki didn't take one step nor allowed her to push him any further before turning about to face her with his brow furrowed even further. "Enough of your messing around. Give me a straight answer for once."

Nagi took a moment to look at him and take in the serious tone that he'd just snapped at her with. Those bicolored eyes that stared at her held her attention for a moment as she took in his expression. He was serious about what he asked. _Isn't he always?_ She sighed heavily at feeling that perhaps this wasn't the best time to taunt him like she usually did.

But what was she supposed to say?

 _The truth, maybe?_

She wasn't liking this part of her that was surfacing in the last hour simply for the fact that it was making her do things that she wouldn't otherwise do. But maybe that was good. Taking it for what it was worth, she let her head hang back to stare upward for a moment before coming back down to face him.

"You've impressed me. The both of you. After that fight, I think we all are, honestly, but...mm—it's hard to explain." Nagi rubbed the back of her neck and pouted pensively for a moment. _You guys were amazing with how brave and undaunting you were. Kind of like what I want to be like._ Sans the whole bone breaking and scorching flames. Chuckling a bit at her own dumb thought process, Nagi shrugged her shoulders to dispel the odd tension that'd built up. "Guess it really comes down to how much I admire you guys in that fight. You two were some crazy sons of bitches, really. Oh, wait—I shouldn't say that about Rei-san. Or even Midoriya's mom for that matter. Okay, no, erase that. Really, you guys were incredible so—"

"You know my mother?"

Turquoise eyes blinked innocently at the rather sincere tone that the one question had. It wasn't with the same annoyance from before nor with any animosity like it'd been when they spoke before his match. No, this one was different. This was simply a question. Nothing more, nothing less. Nagi fought it over with herself whether or not to tell him, but when she couldn't take the sound of his voice when he asked that one question out of her head, she caved.

"I met her at the hospital when I stayed there about...four years ago?" _Sounds about right._ "Yeah, it's been fours years, I think. She was— _is_ my friend, as odd as that sounds." Nagi chuckled a bit before continuing, "I honestly didn't know you were her son until recently when I went to visit her. I showed her a bunch of my pictures this last time."

Recalling the video and photos she took just a few minutes ago, she picked out her phone from her pocket and tried to find said pictures through the cracked screen. "I think she'll like these too!" Nagi skipped to his side and showed him the cracked screen as she swiped through the bunch that she'd taken from the video during the fight. "Oh, also, you kinda owe me a new phone," she snickered, wagging the phone at him for emphasis. "Your little fiery tantrum made me lose my grip on it and the thing crashed ways away!" She chuckled then, "You should've seen how it flew, 'cause I certainly didn't."

"I will."

The sudden seriousness that he took broke her from her playfulness and made her smile as she put the phone away in her pocket. "I was kidding, Todoroki. Y'know, a joke? As in not actually serious."

"I know," he said, "but I'll still do it...if in return you'll answer a question." The sudden shift caught her off guard, her brow furrowing deeply as she turned to look at him. He, on the other hand, remained with his gaze stuck on the floor. His expression, though as aloof as ever, was a clear telltale of how uncertain he was to ask it. "How is she?"

Her eyes widened at the question and it made her think hard about how to answer. Frankly, it didn't take long to come up with one, especially with all the information she had for as vague as it was.

"I tend to forget lots of stuff so I'm not the most reliable person to be asking about others. I'd lose my own head if it weren't attached to my shoulders it's so bad. But…" Nagi offered him a sincere smile then. One that she found herself easily giving for once. "If you're curious...I think you know what to do."

Todoroki stayed quiet for a moment, something Nagi took as him mulling over what she said. For as much as that lasted, anyway. He didn't answer her or so much as talked back when he turned about to start heading towards the general direction of the balcony where they'd had their previous talk. Skipping after him, Nagi stopped mid jump when she recalled what was in the opposite direction. She ran to catch up to him and latched her hands on his shoulders before turning him completely about.

Knowing where she intended to go, he glanced over his shoulder at her while not putting much of a fight. "I already said I'm fine."

"Fine, my ass," she groaned as she struggled to push him forward despite him not putting much of an effort to stop her. "You're getting checked out, whether you want to or not."

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"'Cause you're just as pigheaded—now less talking, more walking."

* * *

She hadn't left Todoroki for even twenty minutes when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Blankly staring at her cracked screen, it took Nagi a second to make out the number that flashed on her phone along with the name, Inryuoku.

 _Yori?_

Rather taken aback, she answered immediately, letting go of all pretentiousness as she pressed the phone against her ear. "Hey..."

" _Hey, you,"_ the boy's voice came through. It always unnerved her to hear Yori talk simply because it was always with a different voice every time. But it was something she got used to so long as she could see them. Ergo why she hated talking to him over the phone. _"Tough luck on that match."_

"You saw?"

She leaned against the closest wall and hid from view as best she could. Being close as she was to the bleachers and arena made it a little hard to hear him over the crowd but it also hid her well in case anybody stumbled into her. _Guess I learned something from accidentally eavesdropping on Todoroki._

" _You mean how you got your ass handed to you? Yeah. I expected it, frankly. I'd say that compared to the others or us, he's by far the strongest one."_ A low chuckle sent a chill down her spine. _"Though I didn't expect you to go as far as using your convergence and that fancy footwork of yours to outnumber him. As well as you could anyway."_

"I gave it my best shot." Nagi mindlessly kicked at the pebbles below her and turned sideways as the crowd roared to life after a while. She gave a sidelong glance to the screen overhead to see Iida's flashing image as he advanced to the third round. "But he got the better of me. Can't say I mind though. We both gave it our all."

" _It certainly did if you call dismantling a whole stadium that. What a coincidence though, isn't it? That you two happen to be not only in the same school but in the same class as well."_

"I'd say Chun-chan pulled some strings to make that happen if I had to bet. Though, I'll admit that it was nice to see him again. We've both changed a lot since the last time we saw each other." _Even more since that last match,_ her mind hopefully threw out there. Nagi brushed the idea off while hoping for it to be true all the same. Her ease slackened her shoulders as a thought came to her head. "Makes me miss writing to them, y'know? Even when getting no replies got me down, it kind of helped to have these one-sided conversations with them."

On the other line, Yori's scoff echoed in her ear. _"They're the ones missing out. Besides, how many times do I have to tell you? Keeping them out of our business is better."_

Yeah, she knew. It's not like they hadn't told her the same thing over and over ever since they started this not so little crusade of theirs. It was a necessary failsafe, that she understood. If it ever came down to it and they were caught, no one other than them would be punished for their actions. No one—the police or otherwise—would be able to trace things back to any of the others this way.

"I still miss it."

It was hard to keep the quiet words from slipping. Most of all when they came surging out like a bat out of hell much like a lot of her emotions were recently. Recalling that, though, also brought forward quite unsavory feelings and the memory of a certain bloodied little girl that was Chiyoko still haunting her. Despite having disappeared for the most part, Nagi couldn't deny that it was still there. She couldn't see or feel her anymore, but she could certainly hear her whispering in the back of her mind. As that uneasiness crawled it's way up under her skin, Nagi clutched her stomach as her thoughts surfaced for her to voice them.

With the image of Chiyoko's small figure still fresh in her memory, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you really think it'll help them in the end?"

" _What do you mean?"_

"What I mean is…" her voice trailed off as she gripped one of her bracelets with her free hand, "Will doing this really help get them past what happened? I know those we've targeted were involved one way or another with that place but what about those who aren't and we end up hurting anyways? What we're doing isn't a victimless thing either, right?" When she realized she started rambling off her thoughts, Nagi clicked her tongue and rubbed the back of her head nervously. "What I'm trying to say is that this can't be the _only_ way we can do this, Yori. Maybe there's another way to—"

" _Like what?"_ Their tone became deeper at the question and it was quite easy to tell how it rubbed them the wrong way. Flinching at the suddenly harsh tone, Nagi opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before pursing her lips.

"I-I'm not sure," she muttered, "but there has to be a better way to go about this. If we try looking for one, we'll surely—"

The sudden sound of a long sigh gave her pause as he spoke over her yet again. _"You shouldn't overthink such things, Nagi."_ Though not as upset as he sounded just a few moments ago, she could tell there was still some exasperation left veiled by the sudden and serene tone. _"You and I decided that_ this _would be the best way to go about it. What we're doing isn't ever going to be a victimless gamble. People will get hurt, lose everything they have, and even go to jail for the rest of their days—the only difference is that this time it'll be the right people getting hurt and punished. And we can't bring the others in on this. Not if we want to spare them the burden."_

It was as they calmly made their point to her yet again that she finally understood why she never liked hearing this explanation. It sounded like a parent describing the simplest of problems to a child—it truly was as condescending as could be. She wasn't a child anymore, and she would be damned if she would let anybody push her around like one.

"Spare them what burden, exactly?" she retorted. "Because it certainly didn't spare Yohsei of his anxiety or panic attacks anytime I come near him."

" _He'll have to make do with Shishio while we deal with everything else. But it will help him in the long run."_

Their nonchalance and carelessness finally brought her over the edge and without meaning to, she snapped with the most blatant example that she knew would shatter their whole argument.

"Yeah, well, that bullshit ain't nothing more than empty words when it wasn't fast enough for Chiyoko. She killed herself just after Yuuei got attacked by that little click you're hanging with and the Nomu they had with them. And even if you say there wouldn't have been a point in being with her, we could've tried something— _anything_ —to stop her."

" _Trust me, it wouldn't have mattered to her."_

Nagi suddenly stopped dead in her tracks at those words. It wasn't so much what he said that caught her off guard though. No, it was the distinct way in which he said them. So calm and collected, so pragmatical.

 _Almost as if..._

Turquoise eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

"You knew…"

Silence answered her for a moment before Yori let out a drawn out breath. That was all the confirmation she needed.

"You knew... **and you didn't think to tell me!"**

Nagi thanked her luck that the crowd cheered for the next winner the very moment she let her rage take over as she shouted over the phone. Yori tried to soften the blow but Nagi wasn't having any of it. Not now when she couldn't see anything other than red with how infuriated she was with his holding back. Before he could continue rambling on, she snapped at him, growling deep in her throat one single question.

"Since when?"

It took a solid second for him to even muster the voice to answer.

" _Since this past weekend."_

Her anger grew tenfold, his words adding even more fuel to the flames that were roaring to life in the pit of her stomach. Knowing what she could do even unconsciously, she backed off from the wall and kept her hands to herself, one holding onto her phone while the other furiously squeezed and reformed the bracelet in her other hand like clay.

"Why didn't you say anything…" Nagi refrained from shouting this time around despite it being quite the hassle in and of itself. "Out of all the things you keep to yourself...why did you keep this from me?"

" _There was no point telling you. I know you, Nagi. You get too emotional for your own sake. And I also knew that it wasn't something you could've changed even if you knew about it."_ That sheepish tone of theirs changed and became rather poignant as they said, _"And getting angry about it now won't change anything either. She's dead already and there are far more important things to focus on—"_

She ended the call and turned off her phone faster than it took for Midnight to declare the winner of the match. Nagi paced the small space between walls to keep her frustration from growing but it ended as a futile attempt that only served to add to her anger.

 _He knew. He_ _ **knew!**_

This whole time that he'd been joking around with her, he'd known about Chiyoko's death and he hadn't once bothered telling her. He hadn't even considered her feelings or just how it would hinder what they were doing. _How—how could he!?_ Biting her bottom lip until it bled only made her already rattling bones quiver all the more with every bit of her mounting anger. It grew and grew until she couldn't keep it in anymore and finally snapped.

" **Fucking bastard!** "

Reeling back, she was about to throw her phone against the wall in the midst of her fit when something ran past her with such speed and force that it knocked her off her feet and sent her tumbling to the ground. Nagi landed on her back as her legs slammed against the ground once they fell and she was left blinking owlishly at the ceiling of the tunnel. For that brief moment, all her rage vanished as confusion took over instead.

 _W-What in the hell…?_

The lights that illuminated the tunnels from above suddenly got blocked by a large shadow that loomed over her. It took her a moment to adjust her eyesight but once she did, she was shocked to see Iida standing over her while offering his hand.

"I-I'm gravely sorry, Chitanko-kun! It wasn't my intention to—I frankly did no see you were here when I ran past—"

Nagi blinked at him once he helped her to her feet as he continued to ramble on without making much sense. Calling out to him as loud as she could, she planted her hands on either side of his arms to calm him down.

"What in the hell has you in such a hurry?"

"It's—It's a personal matter." The way he said that made her brow furrow as she noticed how frantically his eyes looked back towards where he was running— _the exit_ —and how his mufflers were roaring to go. Slipping away from her grasp before she could even say anything else, Iida took a couple of steps back from her before rushing past with his Quirk, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Coughing out the dirt that floated around her, Nagi's gaze remained fixed after him until the dust settled and she was once again the only soul in that tunnel. Concern flooded her head but when a sudden pang crawled up her nape, Nagi hated how easily her worry was overcome by irritation once more. Yori picking around in her brain bothered her now more than ever because she knew exactly what they were doing.

"Fuck off. I'm not talking to you anytime soon, so don't bother."

The odd sensation didn't stop though. Noticing this and hearing the roar of the crowd as another round started gave her an idea. _Let's cancel noise with more noise._ Nagi made a run for their box and found herself in the small aisle just above the row of seats. Stopping short, she completely let go the notion of getting a seat when a barrage of ice took her attention the instant it shot away.

 _They've started._

Todoroki versus Bakugou.

The screen overhead told her about how many rounds she'd missed being down underground and just what match she was watching. _Finals, huh?_ Her gaze fixated on the iceberg that Todoroki had created and how unrelentlessly Bakugou shot at it to escape and begin his onslaught. Those two fought on par with one another. One with overwhelming power that could instantly incapacitate and the other with unrivaled doggedness and ingenuousness that match his Quirk perfectly.

But...there was something different about Todoroki. Something _off._

It took a moment for her to notice it but with every attack Todoroki attempted and that Bakugou so deftly avoided only to counterattack gave it away in the end. _He's not fighting like before._ His movements were sluggish, too simple and easily read. Even if his attacks hadn't lost any of their impetus, his movements had. And with how sharp Bakugou was in a fight, it was too obvious not to notice now.

He was holding back again. Yet this time somehow seemed different from before.

And Bakugou wasn't having any of it.

"How long are you gonna keep screwing around?!" He easily bellowed over the explosions that burst out of the palms of his hands. Raw frustration poured from his every word and it stung Nagi a little from everything that she'd experience so far in so little time. "I want an undisputable first place! There's no meaning to beating a half-assed guy who doesn't want to use his full power! How can I prove myself if I defeat you so easily! Don't stand in front of me if you don't have the will to fight anymore!"

Nagi clutched her jacket over her chest as those words beat her, her heart thrumming loudly against her ear at how hard they hit. And his words only solidified that feeling that suddenly changed at his exclamation.

" **Why are you still standing there, you bastard!"**

 _That's right. He's still standing. We all are._

And so long as they could stand and fight, they needed to keep going regardless of how bleak things looked. They had to stand up and fight for what they wanted. For what they dreamed of. And if she could find the little strength in her to continue, she knew Todoroki could too.

A gasp escaped her when frost ate away at Todoroki's right side at the same time Bakugou charged forward to attack. The way his stance was slacking and the way his gaze fell sent a chill down her spine at recognizing those subtleties for what they were.

 _He's giving up._

 _No_. Her grip on the banister tightened, the metal molding under her hand as her own Quirk activated. _You can't._ Gritting her teeth, she couldn't ignore the swelling of her chest or the words lodged in her throat any longer. _You just can't!_

"Don't you **dare** give up, Todoroki!" Though it mingled with another, Nagi didn't let her words be drowned by it and shouted with all the air in her lungs to make him listen. "Beat Firecracker's ass to hell and back!"

Nagi didn't know if it was her words or what she now recognized as Midoriya's that got through to him, but it mattered little to her once she saw the frostbite that had been eating at his right arm melt away and the flames from his left side ignite. Bakugou lost no time to advance, propelling himself upward with his charge and giving himself momentum as he went forward. But as fast as those flames had come to life, they flickered out earning a gasp from her as she saw something in Todoroki's eyes an instant before Bakugou's explosion hit. The impact sent debris and a gust of air everywhere making Nagi brace herself against the banister as the dust settled—

And showed her Todoroki unconscious against his ice and out of bounds. Bakugou, unable to believe it, ran up to him and grabbed him from the neck of his jacket, exclaiming at him with something akin to desperation in his voice. His sudden fit stopped though the instant a purple mist spread across the arena that knocked him right out.

Watching from the sidelines how Midnight announced the winner, Nagi pursed her lips at how bittersweet the same statement coming from Mic sounded after watching Todoroki's refusal to fight and Bakugou's dissatisfaction with it.

But it was over now.

" **The winner of this year's fear-year U.A. sports festival is from Class A, Katsuki Bakugou!"**

Nagi let out a tiring long breath.

 _Finally_.

* * *

 _Click._

"C-Chitanko-san?"

 _Click._

"Yeah, Shoji?"

 _Click. Click._

"Is there really a need to hide behind me?"

Turquoise eyes peeked from behind the gargantuan figure of his while holding her cracked phone in one hand. Cracking a grin that she couldn't help but show, she chuckled at something she thought awfully obvious.

"Thought these'll make great keepsakes of our first sports festival! And since our lil' golden boy's got a nasty killing intent right now, I'd rather not get too close." She clicked away again, getting a few more candid shots of the stands now that they all stood in their rightful places. Tokoyami in third, Todoroki in second and Bakugou put in first—quite forcefully and against his will. "Kinda 'preciate my life a little too much right now to die by Firecracker's hand today."

As the flashes from the media's cameras blinded them all, Midnight took to explaining how in addition to Tokoyami, Iida was also to take third place, but that due to some family reasons, he had to leave early. Nagi let her phone fall a little at the news.

 _Hope everything's okay._

The glum mood that settled got wiped away the moment Midnight announced All Might as the one who'd present the medals. Arriving in his usual flashy style, Nagi took to snapping away as he gave each their medals doing her best to focus on each one as he did. Tokoyami's was easy since he was right in front of them, but for Todoroki and Bakugou, she found herself moving through the crowd of students who let her through after a shove or two. Once all the medals were given, All Might went about his speech getting Nagi to quickly switch to video and record.

"Well, they were the winners this time! But listen closely." Nagi lowered her phone a bit at his call, her gaze fixed on him as he continued. "Anyone here could have ended on these podiums. It's just as you saw—Competing! Improving each other! And climbing even further! The next generation of heroes is definitely sprouting!"

Competing. Improving. Going even further. Nagi chuckled as those words seemed to easily encapsulate what had just happened in these last few hours. Things that despite scaring her, she was more than happy to have happened. Laughing her heart out when the crowd boos All Might for reading the mood wrong, Nagi spun on her heels as she backed away to get the rest of the students on her phone. Though some stared at her rather confused, those in her class perked right up.

The moment mossy green eyes met hers Midoriya became a frantic mess waving his heavily bandaged arm about to keep her from getting a good shot. Nagi laughed at him before shouting out above the crowd, "C'mon, Midoriya! Give me a smile!"

Beside him Ochako and Kirishima encouraged him as the two posed with a peace sign and clashing fists for her respectively. Getting swept by the mood, Midoriya chuckled before showing her a trembling smile.

 _Click._

 _Perfect._

* * *

"So there will be no school tomorrow or the day after." Nagi let out a grand sigh at the news, sprawling over her desk and hearing audible pops from her body as the braces adjusted her. _Thank you god. I need some sleep._ "I'm sure the pro heroes who watched the sports festival will want to recruit you, but we'll consolidate everything and announce it when you get back. So rest well and look forward to that."

Aizawa dismissed them at last and Nagi groggily rose to her feet, stretching her arms overhead to pop them further and get the heavensent relief of her joints going back into place. God, for as god awful as they looked, the braces did miracles to keep her together. _Keep together...huh._ The thought brought her hand to the back of her neck, the phantom sensation from before not actually having left Even when she could barely hear it as well, there was no denying that she could still hear Chiyoko's voice. And that she was starting to suffer all these again so vividly…

 _Maybe...it's time I start taking my own health seriously, too._

With that in mind, Nagi waved goodbye to Ochako and the others as they made their way out of the classroom and she headed to the front. Blocking Yohsei as he rose from his own desk, both stopped in their tracks dumbfounded by one another. Silver eyes went askance and though she didn't understand why, hers did as well. Not wanting for things to be left like that though, Nagi cleared her throat and smiled the best she could.

"You did great, Yoh-kun. Hope you get some rest after today."

The smallest of smiles came to his lips as he lifted his gaze to meet hers. With a nod, he let out the small breath he kept in. "Yeah...you too, Nagi-san."

Satisfied with that simple exchange, she rounded the desks while waving at him goodbye before returning on the path that would take her to where Aizawa lazily made his way to the front door.

"Mummy-sensei—ouch!"

"No horsing around. Go home, Chitanko," he grouchily reproached, lowering the bandaged arm that he bumped her head with before turning away again.

"No, wait. I have a legit question."

He stopped mid stride to face her then. "What is it?"

"Is Chun-chan here?"

Aizawa blinked a few times, taking a minute to examine her before nodding. "She's at her office. Be sure to make your visit quick, she's got company."

"Thanks! Will do!"

Sprinting out of the classroom, Nagi wasn't quick enough to notice the person in her way and bumped into them the moment she exited the room. The deep growl and the grinding of teeth told her exactly who it was though.

With a chuckle, she pulled at the golden medal dangling from Bakugou's mouth and snapped it up and down. "Hi-yo, Silver, away!"

Bakugou smacked her hand away almost instantly. "Fuck off, Twinkle Toes."

"Roger that," she said with a chuckle. _Can't really piss him off anymore than he is now._ Though it certainly didn't keep her from trying as she reached for it once more to pull him down by his jaw.

"What the—"

"If you're still salty about not getting a good fight, come talk to me when we come back." Nagi swung the medal so that it rounded Bakugou's neck and smacked him on the face on the other side. Though this infuriated him to the point of blasting off explosions in his hands, Nagi was far away enough in the opposite direction to avoid getting charred. "I kinda owe you one after letting you down during Heroics last time! 'Sides, I'm ready to kick your ass for real this time!"

"Like hell you will, damn Twinkles Toes!"

Jogging out of sight after turning a corner, Nagi giddily made her way to Suzume's office where she found the door slightly ajar. It only took a couple of knocks to hear her doctor's soft 'come in' for her to enter, surprising Suzume quite a bit.

"Nagi." Her voice hitched as she closed the file that she held in her hands. "I thought Shouta said you guys had the day off after the festival."

"We do." Nagi stepped in and pushed the door behind her and only continued when she heard the soft _click_ of the door fully closing. "I actually came looking for you."

"Oh, did you?" Setting the folder aside, Suzume placed all her attention on her. "Was there something you wanted from me?"

"Yeah, about that…" Her voice trailed off as she thought of what to say. She'd come there with all the confidence in the world knowing exactly what she was going to say but when it came down to it, she froze. It truly amazed her how hard it was turning out to be after all the resolve she'd gathered to tell her. _Just try._ Those words soothed her enough to relax and come closer to Suzume. "Do you...remember when I was little and still at the hospital that I used to have nightmares?"

Jaded eyes widened a bit before returning to normal as she came closer to Nagi. "Of course, I do."

"Well, they're kind of back. Well—not _kind of_ , they are." Rubbing the back of her neck as she took one long breath gave her enough pause to strike with the heavy hitter. "And so are the other ones. The hallucinations."

"I thought you were taking medications for them."

"I was. But it's kind of like how I was also putting my braces on too."

Suzume took a moment to process what her word play meant before saying, "What have you been doing with the pills then?"

"Flushing them."

"Oh, Nagi…"

Nagi shot back instinctively before she could reproach her. "I-I know what I did is wrong. I really thought I'd gotten better when they went away, but now they've been worse ever since Chiyoko's—" Her hand smacked her mouth shut the moment she realized what she'd let slip. Jaded eyes grew wide at the mention and fell to the floor.

"You found out...about Chiyoko?" There wasn't a point in denying it, so she didn't. Suzume's lips pursed at her response but she composed herself with a deep breath before facing her again. "I'm sorry you had to find out without me being there for you."

Nagi vigorously shook her head and took the few steps to grab the back of one of the chairs in front of the coffee table. "It's okay. It really is. I'm coming to terms with it somehow, but I can't control what it's doing to me."

"Are they voices again?"

She nodded, taking a moment to compose herself before saying, "I've been seeing her lately too. Even felt her touch and claw at my face. It's...terrifying."

A warm hand came over hers and stopped the trembling she hadn't noticed until now. Guiding her to sit down, Suzume crouched before her while holding onto her hands, her thumbs tenderly brushing over the back of them. Her gaze stayed on her hands for a moment before rising to meet her turquoise eyes.

"What do you want me to do?"

It amazed Nagi that she would ask such a thing.

It truly meant a lot coming from her and the choice she was offering. She knew the treatment with her old medications and even adding a few more would work, but if she didn't want to take them for an indefinite amount of time, she knew that there was also Suzume's Quirk. Though she didn't quite understand how, her Emotion Manipulation could do so much more than just receive emotions and cause them in others. For some reason, it could also deal with the deep roots of those emotions to the point where if she could pinpoint it, she could very well erase from her subconscious the memory that was causing her to feel a certain way. And she was giving her a choice of how to deal with what terrified her.

Despite what it caused her, Nagi held steadfast to the idea she had before when Yori asked her that same question.

"I don't want to forget. I want to deal with it however I can on my own." Nagi chuckled to alleviate some of her nervousness while holding onto Suzume's hands. "Though I think a little help from those meds from before wouldn't be so bad."

Suzume smiled as she nodded before raising from her place to go to her desk. After rummaging through one of her drawers, she took a bottle and shook it before coming back and giving it to her. "Take these for now. They'll last you until I can have a talk with Shuzenji-sensei to see what we can start you on."

"Can't you give me what you used to before?" Nagi asked while taking the bottle and reading the label. Though she didn't know what the hell it was, she did recognize Suzume's name which only added to her confusion.

"Regrettably no. Not with you training to be a hero and putting your body through such arduous tasks everyday. Those medications will have to be adjusted, some removed altogether." Suzume's hands came over hers to cover the bottle with both their hands. "But don't you worry. We'll try as many times as we can to get it right for you, Nagi."

Taking her hands back and holding the bottle close, she nodded all the while smiling warmly at her. "Thank you...sensei." With that over with, Nagi stood up and grinned from ear to ear as she made her way towards the exit. "I'll be seeing you in a couple of days then! Have a good one!"

Suzume followed her out and watched her run towards the exit with a smile on her face. Just as she was about to go back into her office, a couple of flimsy papers tapped her on her cheek making her turn to her brother.

"Satsu."

"Yo." Passing over the papers he held, he leaned against the windows that gave a perfect view of the gates that led out of campus. "Am I going crazy or did I hear Nagi's voice as I turned the corner?"

"You just missed her."

"Pity." He scoffed as he leaned back against the window. "I've got a rough draft of what you asked me. A couple, actually."

Suzume looked through the few papers skimming through the details that she knew her brother wouldn't dismiss after asking him personally. Turning yet another page while chuckling at his over the top work stopped her in her tracks at noticing a document that wasn't like the rest. This one looked more official and even had Yuuei's insignia along with his signature. But what truly shocked her was the heading that came on the document.

"Wait a minute. You're—?" When she turned to him yet again, her brother shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly in response.

"What can I say?" Dark green eyes glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a familiar strawberry head run through the gates and out of campus. "This year's got quite the enthusiastic bunch to pick from."

* * *

 **|Next day|**

 _What a day off._

It was heaven to wake up without having to run for dear life to get to class in time. Not just that but whatever Suzume had given her did miracles overnight seeing as the moment she took it and laid down, she knocked the hell out. Though she guessed the meds in combination with how tired she was after the long day had certainly done the job.

"But!" She cheerfully called down at Mi-chan as she changed in front of her full-length mirror. "Today's a new day and we've got lots of stuff to do, Mi-chan!"

Her cat meowed before strolling off to lay on her bed. Dismissing her, Nagi went about picking her outfit. Though it wasn't anything special, she liked looking nice when visiting Rei-san but when her wardrobe consisted mostly of jeans and t-shirts, it was kind of hard to find anything nice. Settling for the only cute outfit she had at hand, Nagi changed into a short white skirt with her leg braces as black stockings and wore a pink long sleeve sweater to hide the ones on her arms as best she could. Wearing her long hair down for a change, she put some of it up in half a ponytail and finished it off with a white ribbon she found lying around. Snatching her bag and camera on her way out, she checked the time on her cracked phone as she headed towards the train station.

" **Next stop, Shizuoka."**

Smiling, Nagi took to answering some of her texts from that morning. Ochako, Tsuyu, Mina and Hagakure had gotten up with high spirits and it showed with the 27 unread messages she went through that consisted mostly of stickers. So had Kaminari and Kirishima apparently seeing how they fired back almost on par with the girls. With the group chat that Iida had set up, it was easy to see them talk amongst themselves and even give her two cents, putting a snarky remark here or there or even place a cute sticker from time to time. Some like Ochako, Tsuyu and Mina messaged her privately which she kept up with during the train ride. The need to sadly leave them on read for the time being though came as the train came to a stop at Shizuoka and she decided to stop at the nearest market. Grabbing a few snacks, Nagi let her phone vibrate all the while the cashier rang her up. She waited until she paid and came out of the store to see who'd texted her but stopped short as the smile she had worn the whole train ride there got replaced by a frown at the message she saw.

" _Please stop being mad."_

The number was unknown, but she didn't need to know that to know who it came from. Nagi didn't want to be mad with them. Least of all when they were alone with a group of unsavory people. _But right now…_ She typed her reply quickly and sent it as she made her way to the hospital.

' _I'm trying not to be, but it's hard. Give me some time to cool down.'_

It took her a few minutes to walk to Shizuoka Hospital but once there, she stopped short at the entrance when her panic began to set in. Despite having entered that other time, she had to admit that it was mostly due to the fact that Rei had been with her that she'd been able to even walk through those doors. But now, alone, she found it so much harder to even move from where she stood now.

 _Try, Nagi. Just try._

A deep breath came into her lungs and she kept it there all the way through the hospital doors. The whiteness of it all struck her for a moment and for a second she stood there dumbfounded while other people walked past her in the waiting room. Taking a few deep breaths to calm down again, she made her way to the front desk to ask about Rei.

"Yes, Todoroki Rei-san is in her room. Are you a family member?"

Nagi shook her head. "A friend of hers. Is it alright for me to come visit her right now?"

The nurse on the other side of the counter nodded. "Yes, of course! Todoroki-san doesn't get many visits outside of her daughter and older son so it was surprising to see you. Go ahead, the elevator's just down the hall."

Good to go, Nagi made her way up to the third floor and to Rei's room. Knocking, she waited for the woman's soft response before entering the room. Stormy gray eyes brightened the moment they saw Nagi as she entered the hospital room.

"Nagi-chan! What a pleasant surprise to see you today."

"Good morning, Rei-san," Nagi chriped before lifting the bag she brought with one hand and her camera with the other. "Hope you're not too busy today. I brought a whole bunch of them!"

Spending time with Rei definitely took the edge off her after having the brief exchange with Yori. It definitely helped that all they did was talk endlessly about how each were doing and about the photos she brought this time. When Rei congratulated her for taking the initiative to get some help when her symptoms started up again, Nagi couldn't help the heat rising to her cheeks.

"It's not that impressive," she muttered. She stopped briefly what she'd been doing with her photos, the stacks of must sees and others that shouldn't be seen by her— _i.e. the ones where Todoroki comes out in_ —neatly stacked on the table they had placed near the window of her room.

"But it is." Rei took one of the ones she'd laid out for her and chuckled at the picture. "Knowing there's something the matter is only the start. It's only when we do something about it that we truly take the first step."

Nagi hid the smile that came to her lips with the stack of photos still in her hand. Wanting to dissipate the uncharacteristic embarrassment, she pointed to another photo that she'd laid for her to see which Rei took candidly.

"And you say these are all from yesterday's festival?"

"Yeah!" She set a few aside on the no-no pile before setting a bunch about to make a makeshift collage for her. "It was crazy! I knew Yuuei was known for going the extra mile but that was out of this world." Rei couldn't help but smile and laugh at the many stories that Nagi told her as she came to look at every picture she'd handed her. By the time she got to the last ones left depicting the award ceremony, she passed Rei the ones of Tokoyami and Bakugou to see but refrained to do so when she ended up with Todoroki's in hand.

He looked quite melancholic in this last picture. And very troubled. But despite those things being so clearly there, there was something else that she couldn't quite describe in his face. Whatever it was though, she liked it. Smiling at it, she gave herself a second to think before starting her tale.

"There's...also a classmate of mine who I've started to admire after seeing him in the festival. He's a handful in his own way—broody, doesn't know what tact is, and he doesn't talk much either, but he's alright. He's definitely strong and I think he's got what it takes to be a hero. Though after yesterday, I think he's a little lost."

"Lost?" Rei asked.

Nagi nodded and took a moment as the perfect way to describe it to her came to mind. "He kind of looks...like how I did back when I was here. When I was little and you found me hiding away in your closet the day we met. It's like he's stranded and can't find a way home despite the road being clear as could be. But...I think he's finally aware that it's there. Like you said just now, I think he knows what the matter is. And I think he'll take the steps to get better too." With that said, she passed Rei the photo of her son being awarded his medal for second place. The moment she saw it, her eyes grew wide as her grip on the photo tightened. All Nagi did was smile. "As for me, I'm just hoping to help him find his way home like you helped me, Rei-san."

Rei doesn't answer her, becoming lost in the picture as she did. Nagi didn't take it to heart. She didn't know since when the woman hadn't seen nor heard of her son. The very same one she hurt.

Wanting to give her some time to mull over it, Nagi stood as quietly as she could from her seat muttering that she would go out to get some strawberry yogurt for them from the vending machine down the hall before taking her bag with her wallet and heading to the door.

Just as her fingers touched the door however, it opened ever so slowly as a pair of mismatched stormy gray and seaglass eyes met hers. Turquoise grew wide at the sight of Todoroki standing before her, his gaze just as wide at seeing her there, but when she realized why he was there in the first place, a tender smile came to her lips.

Walking past him, all Nagi did as she went by was lay her hand on his arm and give it a reassuring squeeze.

 _You've got this._

Nagi exited the room and never once looked back even as the door closed with an audible _click_ behind her _._ Heading to the lobby, she got her strawberry yogurt and headed out to the gardens and the bench near the beds of hydrangea she knew best to take a seat. Her heart swelled just from thinking what kind of reunion the mother and son were having and she hoped that it would be ten times better than she could imagine. Opening the yogurt drink, she took a swig of it before looking over her shoulder at the flowers that were blooming now in the peak of spring. Her hand dropped over the arm of the bench to let her fingers brush against the petals before plucking one from its stem.

Unlike the others that were bare blooming, it looked old, dying almost, but it was still quite beautiful.

"Hydrangeas are quite pretty flowers, aren't they?"

The familiar voice that quietly spoke from beside her took Nagi by surprise. Giving the person a sidelong glance was enough to ascertain her suspicions. The lady sitting with her on the bench looked well enough despite her old age. Dull pink hair with gray was swept to one side into a ponytail and held by an ornament, straight, thin hair falling gently over her shoulder and onto the red and white kimono she wore. Her eyes were hidden behind dark glasses and she leaned back against the bench while leaning her hands on the top of a wooden cane.

"Yeah," Nagi replied with a blasé tone she wasn't aware she'd donned until she talked back. "Though I'd say it's kind of hard to see them with those dark sunglasses."

"Ah, don't mind them. I'm blind, you see. Been for a long while. Though my Quirk is quite useful now that I've lost my sight." She chuckled as she tapped her cane against the floor a few times for emphasis. "It took some getting used to. And though it can't help me distinguish things, it certainly helps that my sense of smell has heightened over the years."

"Small blessings, huh?" Though she didn't want to be there talking to her, something in her kept her seated and made her continue with the nonchalant conversation. "You here for a check-up, granny?"

"Who, me? I'm fit as a fiddle." She chuckled but the sound was buried quickly enough when she sighed. "No, my husband is the one getting checked. He's had quite a few strange episodes as of late. The doctors say it's nothing to worry about so long as we keep an eye on it though."

"Not that strange for an old man like him to get fits," Nagi finally said. "Old man Kin being stubborn as he is must have quite the health problems."

The old lady held tightly to her cane then. "He's mellowed down ever since you left home, Nagi. We've missed you."

"I believe it from you, Ji. But from your daughter and the old man?" Nagi scoffed as she crushed the small flower in her hand. "I'll sooner believe pigs can fly before I believe they give a damn about me."

"It's the truth, Nagi—"

"Mother?"

Turquoise eyes raised at the screeching sound of that voice at the same time that Ji lifted her head towards her daughter's voice. Nagi groaned at the sight of her aunt and grandfather as they stood not far from where she and her grandmother sat.

"Yukiko?"

"It's her, Ji," Nagi confirmed for her as she stood from her seat. "And with that I'm gone."

"Wait, Nagi-chan."

"Let her leave, mother." Her Aunt Yukiko looked as spiteful as she always had. Just a few years older than Aizawa and Suzume, Nagi swore that she had the perfect example in her aunt that disproved that age matured a person. "It's all she's ever been good for. Just like her father."

Before Nagi could snap back at her with a nasty retort, her grandfather interrupted them. "That will be enough, Yukiko." Striking blue eyes like hers turned to look her way. "You seem to be well."

"I am," she said blatantly. "No thanks to you."

"You ungrateful brat—" The step forward her aunt threatened to give was stopped short by a heavy chain and ball that had latched onto her ankle unbeknownst to her.

Baring her teeth at her, Nagi pulled harder when she saw her aunt's hand starting to rise. "You raise that hand at me and you'll lose the hand," she threatened straight out and narrowed her eyes quickly enough as another idea came to her head. "Not like you don't already owe me both for slapping me around years ago."

All at once her aunt's face flushed with embarrassment as she continued to berate her under her breath. Knowing the lost cause that it was to even talk with her, Nagi undid the ball and chain from her aunt's ankle before reforming her titanium bracelets around her wrists, accommodating them with a drawn out sigh.

"Whatever. You're not worth my time, anyway." She turned to her grandfather before saying, "And not that I care, but don't go dying on them anytime soon, old man. They're here because of you, so take care of 'em."

Chitanko Kin nodded solemnly. "I am well aware of that. I'm grateful for your concern, child."

"Don't be. It ain't for you," she muttered under her breath before turning to Ji. "You take care too, Ji. It'll suck to have another grave to visit."

With everything said and done, Nagi left them to their own devices, tossing the half finished yogurt drink in the bin as she rounded the hospital and left the premises altogether.

She made it to the station and as she waited for the next train to arrive, a thought rose as what she last told Ji went around in her head. _Another grave._ Nagi jumped the moment the train rushed past her and the crowd that stood waiting for its arrival and remained in place even after the doors opened and people began to file in.

 _Another, huh._

Though her chest felt heavy at the mere thought of what she was about to do, Nagi took a deep breath, taking courage from goodness knew where and stepping back from the yellow line where she waited and from the train's closing doors to head out of the station.

* * *

The bell above the little flower shop rang when Nagi pushed the door open. She took a deep breath to take in the fabulous scent of so many blooms flourishing in a single space. And though small it was the nearest to where she was headed.

"Welcome!" A young woman stepped out from the back of the shop while holding freshly cut tulips that she cradled against her chest. She beamed a big smile at Nagi who only responded with a meek one of her own. "Good morning, what can I do for you?"

"Morning." She glanced around the shop as she said, "I was wondering if you had any carnations and peonies for arrangements."

"Why, yes we do! Would you like that as a bouquet or basket?"

"Two baskets, please."

As the florist went about gathering what she needed from the back, Nagi scanned about the shop and stopped at the odd thing she saw just to the side of the counter. A small stuffed bear holding a little bouquet of fresh flowers. Though she didn't know what they were, she liked how the white and cream blooms contrasted with the blue ribbon tied around its neck. Picking it up, she noticed something hard in its stomach that clicked every time she pressed.

 _What in the hell?_

"Isn't it cute?" Nagi spun on her heels at the florist's voice calling as she came out of the back.

"What is it?" she asked, clicking whatever was inside again with the same result.

"A new product we're trying out. The children's yard is close by so we thought parents would like to leave some kind of recording for them aside from flowers."

"This thing's got a recorder?"

"Yep! We have other animals as well if you're interested; bears, tigers, horses, kittens, puppies, even dolphins and I think some goldfish as well. We can also record anything you'd like up to five minutes."

 _Five minutes…_

Nagi weighed the bear in her hand for a moment as she mulled it over before turning to the florist who was laying her freshly made baskets on the counter next to the register. Placing the bear on the counter, she asked, "Do you have a horse?"

Paying for two baskets and two bears was easy but having to carry them to where she needed them turned out to be a bit of a hassle. She was definitely grateful that the shop was so close to the cemetery now. Getting through rows upon rows of graves was somber to say the least, even more so when she arrived at the lots on the far corner beneath the shade of a small apple tree. Taking a breather, Nagi set down the baskets before facing the graves she'd been looking for.

Two large tombstones stood next to each other and a much smaller one stood to the left closest to the edge. _Chitanko Kaya_ and _Chitanko Hiroyuki_ were the names engraved on the larger tombs while the small one bore the name _Chitanko Yuuta._ Nagi forced a small smile on her lips as she sat down with her legs crossed and the stuffed animals resting between her legs.

"Hey," she muttered quietly. Turquoise eyes couldn't help but stare at her hands and the bracelets around her wrists before rising to meet the cold stone that sat before her. "It's been...a long while, huh."

 _Yeah, I guess you can call three years that._

Nagi had been to her parents' and little brother's graves only twice before. The first time was a few months after she was rescued and found out about their passing, and the second just before she and Yori began their endeavors. Ever since then, she hadn't been to visit. She honestly didn't know what brought her here in the first place. Her accidental meeting with her grandparents and aunt may have reminded her of them but it certainly didn't bring her there. The more she thought about it though, the easier it was to discern the couple of faces that came to mind as she imagined mother and son peacefully talking to one another in that small hospital room. Her hands tightened around the stuffed bear and horse in her lap, her titanium bracelets _clinking_ together as they did.

"Sorry that I've been gone for so long. I'm alright being here now, it seems. At least I'm not crying, right?" Nagi chuckled but her usual clown act didn't work as much when she was by herself. Clearing her throat, she brushed her fingers against the soft fur of the stuffed animals to gain some peace of mind. But the more that came, the more she noticed her mind slipping back to the last time she was there.

And even now she recalled the words she spoke to them that day she came with Yori.

" _I'll make this right. I swear it."_

"Last time I came I promised you guys something that I shouldn't have. Not because I don't want it or because I don't think it right but because..." Unable to say it for some reason, she held the stuffed toys tighter and held them against her stomach that was a mess of knots. "I started high school, y'know? I'm at that fancy hero school, Yuuei, and I'm learning how to be a hero...is what I'd like to say. But...I don't think I've been going about this the best of ways."

Nagi wiped away at the prickling tears that welled up at her eyes, not wanting for any of them to spill now that she'd gathered the courage to be there and admit this to them. She sniffled a couple of times before lifting her gaze back to the graves.

"I've done some things that I'm not proud of. A few that I'm ashamed of even. And though I only regretted a few in the moment, I think there was a part of me that always knew that what I was doing wasn't how I wanted to go about things. I wanted to help...but I guess I somehow managed to screw that up too." Taking a deep breath, she set aside the small sobs that threatened to escape her and instead busied herself with accommodating the baskets on each of her parents' graves. "I've met some people—a lot, actually—and they're helping me see things differently. I'm alsotrying to be more open and truthful with them. Definitely the latter. I'm still working out some rather unsavory kinks here and there—things that I still need to do and can't leave halfway done. But don't worry, they will be my last."

Reaching into her pockets, Nagi pulled out two small white boxes that fit in the palm of her hand. They were the recorders that went with the stuffed animals the florist had given to her and that could easily go into the toys with an opening and closing of a zipper on their back or stomach. Settling one of the boxes with the horse, she took the other box while fishing her phone from her purse. Her fingers swiped with ease as she went through a memorized set of buttons until she reached her voicemail.

Turquoise eyes turned to the box then while remembering what the florist had told her. Three clicks to record, three beeps before it started, and one click once done. Nagi clicked the three times and waited for the three beeps before pressing _'play'_ on the one voicemail she had saved in her phone.

Her mother's voice instantly chirped to life and washed away the silence with her cheerful tone as the message replayed for what felt like and surely was the 100th time right beside the recording box.

" _Nagi, be sure to take care on your way. Papa and I will be waiting for you, alright? And also, don't mind your father too much. He's just worried. We trust you'll make it home just fine. So we'll see you soon, sweetie!"_ Her father's childish and exaggerated cries called out in the background for her to take care just as the words she kept close to her heart that her mother repeated with a hearty chuckle finalized the message. _"We love you, Nagi."_

Twenty-seven seconds. That was all the message lasted. And yet it was one of the few precious memories she still had of them that she wanted to leave with him. Lifting the box close to her, she clicked once and gave it a small kiss before placing it safely inside the bear. Once zipped up, she sat it against Yuuta's grave with its little bouquet while adding hers to it as well.

Grabbing the one box left, Nagi held it between her forefinger and thumb and took a deep breath before clicking it three times and waiting for the beeps to come.

 _Beep._

 _I'll make it this time._

 _Beep._

 _A better promise._

 _Beep._

"I wish you were here to see me, to cheer me on, to be mad when I make dumb mistakes, to be with me when I'm sad. But you're not. And I'm coming to terms with that still even after all this time. I might not be the daughter I could have had you all with me, but I'll try my hardest to be the daughter you won't have to worry about. I'll do everything that I once told you I would be. I'll be the hero you knew I could be, Mom. The bravest one out there. I'll never give up until I do either, Dad. You can bet your bottom dollar on that. And, Yuuta, your big sister's gonna be the kind of hero that you can be proud of. I'll become the hero that you deserved and needed that day. I'll be the hero that can save others as well as myself. That's my new promise, and this time, I'm going to do this the way that you would have encouraged me to follow."

 _The right way._

Clicking the box and finishing the recording, she stuffed it inside the toy horse's stomach and zipped it shot, yamming the thing close with a tiny piece of titanium.

"And I'm never going back on that promise."

It wasn't until the sun reached its peak in the sky that Nagi decided to finally leave the cemetery and head home. Once in the train that would take her there, she took a seat that faced the opposite windows, angling herself over the empty seats to better glance over her shoulder at the scenery that passed by her. With a deep breath, Nagi smiled at noticing how easier it was to breathe now and how much lighter her shoulders felt as well. Her hold tightened on her stuffed horse as she laid her head against the rattling window.

Just as she was drifting off to enjoy the sway of the train, her ringtone went off, spooking her. Snatching her phone from her purse once more, she unlocked it to a notification for a new message from an unknown number. Raising an eyebrow, her first thought went to Yori. Surely it'd be him trying to patch things up by catching her off guard after having changed bodies. But that idea quickly vanished at reading the first line of the text that got sent her way.

' **Hey, it's Todoroki. I got your number from the group Iida made. Sorry.'**

Nagi couldn't help but chuckle at Todoroki's rather awkward texting. Laying her head back against the window, she swiped her reply with one hand with a smile on her face all the while doing so.

' _No worries. Kinda odd to be getting a text from you of all people. Something up?'_

The typing bubbles came up for a moment before his reply came. A single picture of his hand holding onto her camera with her camera bag just off shot from where she assumed it hung from his shoulder. Turquoise eyes went wide and scanned the area all around her before noticing too late that yes, she had indeed forgotten her very expensive camera back in the hospital. While berating herself for such an idiotic mistake, she forgave herself once she remembered why she hadn't bothered returning for it in the first place.

' _Thanks. I must've forgotten about it in my hurry to leave you guys be. Is my baby alright and whole still?'_

' **It's not broken if that's what you're asking.'**

' _Good to hear. Kinda got scared after what my poor phone suffered.'_ Snickering to herself when she watched the typing bubbles appear and disappear in less than a second, Nagi took quickly to typing, _'Joking.'_

The typing bubbles appeared quickly as he sent a text after that. **'I can catch up to you and give it back. Are you closeby?'**

Nagi started texting but stopped and thought better of it. Posing with her stuffed horse and giving her phone's camera a peace sign, she snapped a quick shot of her with the scenery as the background.

' _On my way home already, and my place ain't that close to Shizuoka per say. How about you keep it for today? I know it's safe with ya anyway and we'll see each other in class tomorrow. So mind hanging onto it for me until then?'_

The bubbles appeared. **'Sure.'**

' _Great! Then I'll see you tomorrow."_

' **Yeah.'**

She chuckled at his curt answers and took a moment to add his number to her short list before closing her eyes again. Just as she was drifting back into the little peace of mind before her station came, her phone rang again with another notification.

' **Also, thanks.'**

Eyes grew wide at the two simple words before a gentle smile came to her lips.

' _You still_ kinda _owe me for my cracked phone. I think I can let it slide after the amazing shots you gave me during the festival though. So let's call it even, alright?'_

The bubbles appeared again.

' **I suppose so.'**

Nagi stood as her train neared her station, waiting patiently by the door for it to open while swiping quickly to reply. _'See ya, Todoroki."_ Just as she heard the doors open one last text came. The instant she read it, her smile broadened and got her to skip out into the station.

' **See you tomorrow, Chitanko.'**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **For once I have an actual excuse for taking so long. Not only was I working on other WIPs but this is actually 2 chapters worth of work in one! I didn't want to prolong the Sports Festival any longer so I went with this mashup instead. Don't look half bad, imo. But anyway, this was a really big winding down chapter after the second half with lots of things that I'm sure many of you suspected getting confirmed.**

 **I have a little bit of time so I'll go straight into thanking all of the lovely people that have followed and favortied this story since last time! Thank you to** _Ghostbell777, luvanimefreak, Gentle Catastrophe, lundygeorge7, shad. 16, aarime, BABree123, JadedBark, iluvninjas, livesinasong13, CollegeGirl2018, ThatGuyQQ, doomNgloom_ **and** _StarrySkyFall_! **You all are amazing and I love you!**

 **Now to answer the reviews that came in and got me through writing this monster of a chapter TwT**

 **Aviantei:** _super happy you liked the last chapter! I wanted their fight to be a good one so I took great care with how I went about it. Glad it had the intended effect! The 2nd year student won't be coming back for awhile but she will return. And yes, baby Nagi finally got in trouble but now she's actually doing something about it which is good! Thanks again for all your wonderful words, my friend~_

 **Melody1818:** _*hands over handkerchief* hope this helps. Also, i love you more for loving this mess of mine!_

 **peachbrit:** _oh no, i've caused sleep deprivation! Hee, just kidding. But tysm! Years of doing this have paid off TwT. Hope you had fun reading this chapter as well :D_

 **Well, that's about it! I hope you all are doing well still during these times. Remember to take care of yourselves and be safe out there! Hope you guy enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next update! :D**

 **Love and hugs**

 **\- Evie**


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